Though Jason Statham stepped into Charles Bronson's shoes for his remake of
The Mechanic,
Safe is a better evocation of the style of action picture Bronson, Lee Marvin and Walter Hill turned out in their 70s heyday. This is a tight, brutal action thriller in the mould of the work of Walter Hill. Everything in this movie is pared down to the absolute essentials. Written and directed by the inconsistent Boaz Yakin,
Safe may be his best film. It is also Statham's best, most unapologetic action flick.
A homeless drifter tormented by his past, Statham is thrown together with a hyper-intelligent child on the run from her unsavoury guardian, a mob boss who does not trust computers and uses her talents to keep track of his holdings.
Marked by short, brutal bursts of violence and leavened by a sense of black humour and invention, Safe deserves to stand alongside the likes of John Wick and Dredd as a terse, violent throwback to the action films of the 70s and 80s.
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