Safe

Most non-Expendables movies starring Jason Statham are crap, but Safe is a surprising step in the right direction. He stars as Luke Wright, a former cop and cage-fighter who is marked for death by the Russian mob. On the brink of suicide, he sees a little girl, Mei (Catherine Chan), on the run. Mei has a photographic memory and holds the code to a very valuable safe. Using his special set of skills, Luke starts a full-blown war with crooked cops, the Triads and the very same Russians who have a vendetta against him, in order to protect the girl. The first 20 minutes or so set up the plot. Once things are explained thoroughly, the action starts and doesn’t let up. The fights are both brutal and greatly choreographed; the only real issue is that the shaky-cam gets a little out of hand, making things hard to see from time to time. This doesn’t really kill the mood too much, though, and along with The Avengers and The Raid: Redemption, it stands as one of the great action films of 2012. Let’s hope the rest of the year goes this swimmingly.