Jason Statham has played a ton of action roles in his life, but how often has he played an ex-cop, an MMA fighter, and a former government assassin all wrapped up in one character? Knowing Statham, it’s possible the answer is more than once, but the most notable example is undoubtedly his underrated 2012 action film Safe. If you haven’t checked this one out before, you can stream it now on Netflix.
Jason Statham is a tough guy with a heart of gold in the overlooked action thriller Safe, now streaming on Netflix.
Jason Statham plays Luke Wright in Safe, who finds himself having to protect a child from the Russian mafia, the Chinese Triads, and corrupt NYPD cops. The film was written and directed by Boaz Yakin and was produced by Lawrence Bender, Dana Brunetti, and Joseph Zolfo. Alongside Statham, the cast includes Chris Sarandon, Catherine Chan, Anson Mount, Reggie Lee, Sando Tecsy, Joseph Sikora, Danny Hoch, Matt O’Toole, Robert John Burke, and James Hong.
As you might expect from a Jason Statham film, Safe is not short on action sequences. The thriller packs in a lot of action during its runtime, but it’s certainly not one of his more prestigious efforts. While the film is perfectly serviceable, its reviews were fairly mixed, and it only ended up grossing around $40.6 million worldwide against a budget of $30 million.
Still, for Jason Statham fans and action movie fans in general, there are certainly worse options out there than Safe. As long as you don’t go in expecting some genre-busting masterpiece, you should be fairly satisfied with your time spent on this movie. It’s a fairly formulaic film, but it’s very solid, nonetheless.
Jason Statham is one of the most reliable stars in Hollywood, with Safe bringing in $40.6 million at the worldwide box office.
Jason Statham has stayed plenty busy since his starring role in Safe in 2012, with his most recent film just hitting theaters last weekend. Statham returned to reprise his role from the 2018 intentional B-movie The Meg, about a massive shark. Meg 2: The Trench sees a research team running into multiple undersea threats, including the titular massive shark.
Probably Jason Statham’s most prominent action role since starring in Safe was his role as Deckard Shaw in the Fast & Furious franchise. Statham’s character first joined the franchise in Furious 7 and has appeared in each subsequent entry ever since. His character even got his own spin-off alongside Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs in Fast Hobbs & Shaw.
Jason Statham also appeared in the most recent entry to the Fast & Furious franchise Fast X, which saw Jason Momoa join the franchise as the villainous Dante — the son of the drug kingpin Hernan Reyes. Along with Statham, the film also brought back Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordan Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Charlize Theron, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Sung Kang, and Helen Mirren. The new additions to the cast included Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Daniela Melchior, and Alan Ritchson.
While Jason Statham never got a sequel to his film Safe, he has pretty much not stopped hitting the action film circle ever since. It is pretty much Statham’s specialty, but it would be interesting to see him take on a role that goes a little bit against his type. Still, that doesn’t mean that he hasn’t added some underrated films to his repertoire since 2012.
Like Jason Statham’s Safe, his 2023 film Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is also pretty underrated and hasn’t been seen by too many people. That film starred Statham as special agent Orson Fortune, who brings together a team of operatives and one of Hollywood’s biggest stars to go undercover and stop the sale of a deadly world-threatening weapon. Along with Statham, the Guy Ritchie-directed film also starred Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Hugh Grant, Bugzy Malone, and Josh Hartnett.
