# Safe - Blu-ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9212[/img] *Title: Safe
Starring: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, James Hong
Directed by: Boaz Yakin
Written by: Boaz Yakin
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 94 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: September 4th, 2012* 
*Movie:* :4stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*Audio:* :4stars: 
*Extras:* :2stars: 
*HTS Overall Score:*80




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9217[/img]*Summary*
I’ve been a Jason Statham fan ever since I was a teenager watching him in “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” and its sequel-in-spirit “Snatch.” He then launched himself as an action star into American cinema by creating a big name for himself with titles such as “The Transporter” and “The One” (costarring Jet Li). Unfortunately, for fans like myself, he’s made some lackluster choices in the last few years like “Killer Elite” and “The Mechanic,” where he played very good characters in otherwise disjointed scripts. I didn't have high hopes for “Safe” after seeing its very poorly marketed and generic-looking trailer in theaters. Fortunately, “Safe” is a bit more of a return to Statham’s hay day where guns, quick one-liners, and a plethora of hand-to-hand combat scenes brought in the fans. 

The film begins by introducing to Mei (Catherine Chan), who is discovered to be a math genius - she can see and memorize incredible amounts of ciphers and is able to recite them back at will. Now, the Chinese Triad (mafia) group see just what an asset a girl of her talents could be in their business, and she is pulled into the gangster world against her will in order to keep her sick mother alive. Soon she’s keeping track of every single criminal business enterprise of one Triad member, Han (James Hong), keeping lists of profits, losses and other such things in her head, thereby able to keep that data safe, out of computers, so no one can find it. Mei is given a VERY long list of numbers to memorize, and is sent on a mission with her caretaker to go and exchange that list of numbers for another list of numbers. On the way, she’s kidnapped by Russian mobsters, and she escapes in the confusion. 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9216[/img]Meanwhile, Luke Wright (Jason Statham) is being chewed out for not losing a cage fight like he should have. Not only has he lost money for the fight manager, but he’s lost a lot of money for one of the city’s biggest Russian mafia kingpins. As a result, he’s handed over to the Russians who kill his wife while leaving him alive with the stipulation that they are going to keep an eye on him and kill, or torture, ANYONE that he has any sort or relationship with, a sense a living torture for him. Slipping away as a vagrant, Luke tries to keep himself away from anyone that might be hurt as result of his Russian "friends," only to be picked up by a cop. Turns out this cop knows Luke. Luke, apparently, once belonged to New York’s Finest, but was shunned by the police force after he ratted out a corrupt special tasks group with which he worked. After being roughed up by his former partners, Luke really seems to not have much to live for; going down to the subway, he contemplates jumping in front of the train, but decides not to when he sees Mei being followed by the same Russian mobsters that destroyed his life. Engaging the Russian mobsters, Luke helps Mei escape and finds out that the string of numbers she’s carrying is a code to a safe. From there Luke becomes her guardian, pitting the Russian Mob, the Chinese Triads and a corrupt police force against each other in a mad dash to find out what’s in the safe and gain back his life.

Now “Safe" isn't going to win Best Picture at the Oscar's, but for a big dumb action movie, it’s not as dumb as it seems. Boaz Yakin decides to hold some of the plot line’s cards a little closer to the vest than your average action film. Sub plots are introduces that are clichéd and taken from the action movie playbook, but he keeps it alive by not letting the audience know ALL the information right up front. Also, the stunt choreography did a great job at making some very unique fights, and some rather unique deaths, for that matter. There was a good amount of shaky cam, but it wasn't as disjointed and distracting as some movies I've seen. The fight scenes weren't cut from here to blazes and back so you couldn't see ANY action, but rather just enough that you could see Statham beating in a few heads instead of “guessing” that an action scene was going on by the chaos of the camera spinning constantly with 12 million scene cuts per second. While there’s plenty of cheesy clichés and sarcastic one-liners, the movie is cohesive and doesn't take the audience for COMPLETE idiots, even letting them follow along with the story as well as the action. Overall, a great action flick that left a smile on my face. 





*Rating:* 

Rated R for strong violence throughout, and for language



*Video* :4.5stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9215[/img] “Safe” is given to us with an excellent 2.39:1 AVC encoded by Lionsgate. Color delineation is nice, though they kind of a have a dark coat to them; however, since the movie takes place mostly at night or in crowded restaurants and subways, it's understandable. Sunlight scenes are bright and clean where the reds and blues dominate the screen. There is a fine layer of grain that covers the whole film, but it looks very natural is never distracting. Facial detail in incredible - you can see every strand of hair on Mei’s face and every crevice of Jason Statham’s rough and craggy visage. Blacks are deep and inky with very little evidence of black crush. Shadows are rich and thick, but still don’t block the image on screen with a dark mass. The only real complaint that I had with the picture is that some of the detail in the background wasn't as focused as I’d like it to be. Other than that, it was a gorgeous transfer, very film-like with almost no evidence of digital tampering. 









*Audio* :4stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9214[/img] The audio was almost as good as the picture, with dialogue centered very firmly in the front speakers; the only time I couldn't hear an actor came when half of the actors on screen were either speaking with thick Russian accents or in Chinese. I have to say, the dynamic range on track was incredible. Low voice came in quiet, but understandable, while explosions and gunshots during the action scenes thunder around you like you’re actually IN a gun battle. That being said, the Russian accents had me raising and lowering the volume at times just because it’s kind of hard to understand what a villain is saying when it’s obscured by a thick accent (although that’s not really a fault of the audio track). Bass wasn't as prevalent as I’d thought it would be in an action film, however, when it did come into play, it was clean and deep, more “accenting” a scene or present in the score rather than creating unrealistically deep gunshots and explosions. The score was rather disappointing, in my opinion. It sounded VERY generic and could have been swiped from one of a million DTV action films. Other than that, a very pleasing track that is sure to not disappoint. 



[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=9213[/img]*Extras:* :2stars:

• Writer/Director Commentary
• Cracking "Safe"
• Criminal Battleground
• The Art of the Gunfight









*Overall:* :4stars:

I was a bit nervous going into “Safe,” being that I skipped the theatrical release due to a weak and generic-looking trailer. For the last several years, Jason Statham has been out of the over-the top-action flicks that made his career and has been putting out some rather mediocre films (Killer Elite, The Mechanic, Blitz etc). However, I was VERY pleasantly surprised after watching this one. Back are the slick one-liners and the martial arts scenes, along a healthy dose of guns and glory that I've missed for so long. Not once was I looking at the clock waiting for it to be over. First the “Expendables 2,” and now this - I’m very excited to see what Jason Statham will be putting out in the next few years. Check your brain (or at least most of it) at the door, grab some popcorn, and have fun watching one of Britain’s action stars explode over the silver screen once more.


*Recommendation: Watch It!​*


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## JBrax (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks for the review Mike. This one is on my list to watch. Just got my Alien Anthology BR collection yesterday and after that I'll be renting this one.


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

nice review I agree with statham taking part in some questionable scripts but looking forward to checking this one out thank you.


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## ALMFamily (Oct 19, 2011)

Thanks for the review Mike! :T

I am not a big fan of this type of action movie (odd as that is to say!) - I actually skipped _The Expendables_! :rolleyesno: That said, I try to watch the ones you guys give a good review so I will add this one to my list.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks for the review... I just watched it and I agree it is much better than I thought it might be from the previous reviews of the movie.


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## gorb (Sep 5, 2010)

Thanks for the review. I'm also a Statham fan, but I haven't even heard of this movie. I'll try and check it out soon.


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

We just watched this last night and I will disagree about the audio: while it is great and provides some fantastic booms and bangs when it was spoken dialogue the audible volume was much lower then the 'action'. I had to turn it up when there was speaking going on and then turn it down on the action scenes.

PS - i really enjoyed the movie seeing Jason get to use his 'real' martial art fighting skills. My better half found it 'boring' and like "legend of the king" movie he was in (which I do agree was bad).


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

WRYKER said:


> We just watched this last night and I will disagree about the audio: while it is great and provides some fantastic booms and bangs when it was spoken dialogue the audible volume was much lower then the 'action'. I had to turn it up when there was speaking going on and then turn it down on the action scenes.
> 
> PS - i really enjoyed the movie seeing Jason get to use his 'real' martial art fighting skills. My better half found it 'boring' and like "legend of the king" movie he was in (which I do agree was bad).


ahhh, let me explain. that's called having a wide dynamic range. basically allowing for the audio to allow for a whisper sound as quite as whisper yet have the explosions, gunshots literally sound as if the explosion is at the intensity of an explosion. Usually when the audio is done tooooo low the sound effects and the score drown them out, but in the case of wide dynamic range you can hear the vocals fine over the score and are literally kicked out of your seat when an explosion etc happens.


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

Mike Edwards said:


> ahhh, let me explain. that's called having a wide dynamic range. basically allowing for the audio to allow for a whisper sound as quite as whisper yet have the explosions, gunshots literally sound as if the explosion is at the intensity of an explosion. Usually when the audio is done tooooo low the sound effects and the score drown them out, but in the case of wide dynamic range you can hear the vocals fine over the score and are literally kicked out of your seat when an explosion etc happens.


I'm ok with when characters whisper that the dialogue reflects that but when normal conversation is so low it's annoying. It REALLY bothers my better half who's like " TURN IT DOWN!" and some of our 6 dogs who freak out from the 'quiet' to the BING BANG BOOOOOOM!!!


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

LOL, I could see how the doggies don't like that. My cats are never very appreciative when I have the subs cranked up past the point of no return for their ears.


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

But when the woman of the house is not home - it's VERY loud in the man cave (I call it "The Movie Theater Experience"). I tell her "You don't tell the theater to turn THEIR speakers down do you?!?!" - of course she doesn't appreciate that question.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

WRYKER said:


> But when the woman of the house is not home - it's VERY loud in the man cave (I call it "The Movie Theater Experience"). I tell her "You don't tell the theater to turn THEIR speakers down do you?!?!" - of course she doesn't appreciate that question.


very true, luckily for me I am married to a woman who actually asks me if we can add another subwoofer to the mix (insert me drooling)


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

Mike Edwards said:


> very true, luckily for me I am married to a woman who actually asks me if we can add another subwoofer to the mix (insert me drooling)


Are you 'open' to 'sharing' her?!!!


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

WRYKER said:


> Are you 'open' to 'sharing' her?!!!


LOL, I'd have to ask but if you have kittens of puppies you've got an assured in 

EDIT: she looked over my shoulder while writing this and said she's MORE than willing to come over and announce "I give you permission to get another sub!!" lol


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

Well we have 8 doggies! 6 are chihuahua's and one is a doxie and the other is a doxie/jack russell mix so they are all cute!! (one of the chi's and the 'mix' are ones we're fostering - VERY cramped full-size bed we sleep in at night!)

Just read your edit: OK send her over but make sure she convince my lady!!


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

WRYKER said:


> Well we have 8 doggies! 6 are chihuahua's and one is a doxie and the other is a doxie/jack russell mix so they are all cute!! (one of the chi's and the 'mix' are ones we're fostering - VERY cramped full-size bed we sleep in at night!)


wow, and I thought we were nuts with 6 cats. I DO understand the cramped bed at night though lol


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## WRYKER (Jan 23, 2009)

MEOW! We love cats too - we had two but they passed away and our hands are full with these doggies.


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## pharoah (Jul 21, 2012)

good review i had planned to get it anyway.so its defo on the list next time im out.


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## titanius719 (Aug 8, 2012)

I have not been watching Statham as long as you, but I have never seen him in a movie that I was not impressed with. That being said, I had to throw safe in my Blockbuster at Home queue. The plot seemed more like three plots all smashed into one. One of the guys that works at DISH with me said he didn’t even finish the movie. I did not have the same problem. I watch Statham for the fighting and that is exactly what he brought to the table. And I would even go so far as to say that this was the best action fighting movie (plot excluded) that I have seen him in. There were no extra fees for me to rent it in blu-ray, which is awesome because HD is the only way anyone should watch Statham kick butt.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Nice review, Mike. I just gave this one a spin. I enjoyed it. As in most of his movies, Statham portrays a very confident and cool master of chaos. The audio - especially in the gun battle scenes and the car chases - was spectacular. And the dialog, especially Staham's, were thick and soupy.

The PQ on my JVC RS45 was okay. I was curious to re-read your review after watching the film because I thought the picture looked overly dark and grainy at times... looks like you had a similar impression. It actually had me check the settings on my projector to make sure they hadn't been accidentally changed! I'm sure this film darkens even more on a PJ...

Anyhow, if you enjoy action films - especially movies like Driver, then this one will probably be up your alley and worth a watch!


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

I watched this the other night and I have to say it was really enjoyable. The action scenes were fun and the acting was good. 

I watched the DVD but the audio I don't think deserves a 4, maybe a 3.5 at best. The bass in some of the transition scenes was better than any of the explosions or gunfire.

Still a good action flick worthy of a spin


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## gorb (Sep 5, 2010)

Finally got around to watching this about an hour ago or so. I really liked it - probably one of my favorite Statham movies.

Ridiculous amount of dirty cops in this movie though


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