Netflix has a large selection of B movies (and C and D movies as well). I'm quite fond of B movies, actually, especially when they star Jason Statham, so when SAFE popped up, I figured it was worth checking out. Statham plays a former cop-turned-cage fighter whose life has taken a spectacular downward spiral. (And the filmmakers do a GREAT job of making his world incredibly gritty.) When his path crosses a young Chinese genius who's fallen into the hands of a Russian mobster, he finds the fire in his belly to save her and himself.The violence here is pretty brutal--lots of stomping and kicking and beating. Statham's character is introduced in a brief scene where he punches an opponent into a coma and the way it's shot, he looks massive and bestial.
I lasted less than half an hour, checking out before Chris Sarandon showed up as the Mayor.
I did enjoy Reggie Lee's performance as the young genius' "foster father." Lee is my favorite actor on Grimm, where he steals every scene he's in. Here he's understated and dangerous and really effective.Too bad not that many people saw it. The movie was written and directed by Boaz Yakin, whose career is all over the place. He directed the sports movie Remember the Titans and co-wrote the screenplay for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. He's also one of the co-writers of the upcoming thriller Now You See Me, which looks like a lot of fun. This movie was ... not a lot of fun. So, minus for Netflix.
