Man on Film: Safe

There are times when I feel as though having seen Rambo (that's the fourth film in the series for those who get confused or didn't have their lives changed by the film) has ruined me for every action film that has come since. Having unreasonable expectations for the amount of insane violence only to have those expectations exceeded has set the bar too high for all who have followed. Coming out of every action flick now, it seems as though my expectations are never met, with the reckoning of the reaction in relation to those expectations a constant battle.

Going into Safe, the latest Boaz Yakin joint (director of Remember the Titans and four other films I've never heard of), the hope was that it would be a balls-to-the-wall Jason Statham star vehicle putting his many talents to use. While the smart-ass tough guy that we know and love is obviously present, it feels as though his physicality isn't utilized as fully as it could be. Maybe this is a byproduct of Rambo ruination, but Statham can and should be kicking all kinds of ass for the entirety of every movie he's in.

In Safe, he does kick a lot of ass. I don't mean to sell Yakin short. Safe has about as much action as one might expect. Jason Statham tosses a slew of guys around, shoots a bunch more, takes a licking, and keeps on ticking. In the end, though, it seems as though this never gets past the run-of-the-mill action flick. You don't hate it while you're sitting there. You go along for the ride willingly, chuckle along with his wise-cracking, take glee in his obliteration of every crooked bastard in his path, and forget nearly everything you saw within minutes of leaving the theater.