Safe is one of the better recent Statham action films. He plays Luke Wright, a former cop who ratted out his dirty colleagues and then went on to become a MMA fighter but he knocks out an opponent and sends him to a coma and upsets a betting ring.

In fact the Russian mafia kills his pregnant wife but leaves him alive to suffer. Down on his luck he is about to kill himself when he spots a young Chinese girl being pursued.

This girl has a photographic memory when it comes to numbers. She has been brought from China by Chinese Triads and she has memorized a complex series of numbers but she has escaped.

Wright rescues her but he has to deal with the Chinese and Russian gangsters as well as his ex colleagues from the force and figure out what these numbers mean and why does everyone find the girl valuable.

The film in some ways has been inspired by the Denzel Washington film, Man on Fire. The plot is rather mindless and in some ways rather convenient but there is enough fun and action.

SAFE marks another step up the career ladder for action star Jason Statham, who also made 2012's above-average KILLER ELITE with Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. SAFE steps away from the teen-friendly hijinks of THE TRANSPORTER and DEATH RACE in favour of a more focused and realistic storyline which sees Statham and his young charge (newcomer Catherine Chan, and very good she is too) on the run in New York from not only the Russian and Chinese mafia but the city's police force, too!

The film works as pure action spectacle, with never a flagging moment. Statham growls and spits his dialogue, headbutts bad guys with abandon, and shoots his way through a small army in his attempts to save Chan from harm. It's a bit like THE MAN FROM NOWHERE, eschewing all that film's careful build-up and painstaking plot progression in favour of more breakneck action bits and scenes of Statham throwing guys through windows.

Statham provides a masterclass in thuggery, while the action, refreshingly free of the shaky-cam for once, is masterful and exciting. There are some nice supporting turns from the likes of DRAG ME TO HELL's Reggie Lee as the bad guys, along with former leading man Robert John Burke (DUST DEVIL) nowadays unrecognisable thanks to the ageing progress.

Of course, SAFE will never win awards, and those who don't "get" action films will give it the cold shoulder. On the other hand, those of us who remember the good old days when Van Damme and Seagal were churning out hit after hit will probably enjoy it.

Luke Wright (Jason Statham) takes on the Chinese Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. A little Chinese girl has some magical numbers in her head. Whatever.

Jason Statham does yet another action crime movie. This one is written and directed by Boaz Yakin. The story is completely convoluted and unimportant. This is all about fighting, gun play, action. Nothing we haven't seen before. It's Chinese food action and fun for a hour, then you're hungry again. At this point, all of his movies are blending into one. If you're a fan, don't you miss this latest one.