The idea of a Jason Statham film is often better than thing itself. Statham is one of the few working action stars, and that means he churns out a film or two a year that tend to be low budget with an international cast and setting to better maximize their worldwide value. Safe is easily one of his best films and delivers a solid action movie with a good story and enjoyable action sequences. Our review of Safe on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Lionsgate has released a new 60-second TV spot for the action film Safe starring Jason Statham.  Going only by the TV spot, I’m not really sure what the plot is.  I think Statham has to protect a little girl because she knows something.  It’s the excuse for Statham’s character to beat people up, and I’m sure eventually we’ll reach the point where Statham’s movies are titled Jason Statham Kicky Punch Fun Time.

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot.  Safe opens April 27th.

We’re happy to share with you the exclusive poster premiere for Lionsgate’s actioner Safe. Jason Statham stars as an ex-cop from New York who witnesses the attempted abduction of a 12-year-old girl. After rescuing her, Statham’s character learns that the girl has memorized a code that the Triads, the Russian Mafia, and corrupt New York officials all want. Directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans), the film also stars Anson Mount, Chris Sarandon, Reggie Lee and James Hong. Hit the jump to check out the first poster. Safe opens April 27th.

Criminals are now so afraid of Jason Statham that they’re mobilizing an entire city to take him down…and it still might not be enough. In a new trailer for Safe, just released from Lionsgate, Statham plays Luke Wright, an ex-cop from New York who witnesses some tough guys attempting to abduct a twelve-year-old girl. After rescuing her, Wright learns that the girl has memorized a code and that the Triads, Russian Mafia and corrupt NYC officials all want it. They’ll do anything to get it, but they’ll have to go through Wright first.

Directed by Boaz Yakin (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), Safe also stars Anson Mount (Straw Dogs), Chris Sarandon (Fright Night), Reggie Lee (Grimm) and James Hong (Blade Runner). Safe opens up on March 2, 2012. If you’re a fan of Statham, you’ll want to hit the jump and check out this trailer.

Jesse Eisenberg has taken the lead role in Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me.  As we reported in February, Edward Ricourt and Boaz Yakin’s spec script is about “a crack FBI squad in a game of cat-and-mouse against a super team of the world’s greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances and showers the profits on to their audiences.”  Eisenberg will lead the magicians.  Variety also reports that Jake Gyllenhaal has been offered a role, but his deal is more tentative.

Eisenberg is set to co-star in Woody Allen’s next film and the indie comedy Predisposed.  He’s may also reunite with Noah Baumbach for While We’re Young.  He’ll next be seen alongside Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride in Ruben Fleischer’s heist comedy (why does Eisenberg love to steal in a humorous fashion?) 30 Minutes or Less.

Lionsgate has scheduled Safe starring Jason Statham for release on October 28 where it faces Now and The Rum Diary in wide release.  Statham plays “a former elite agent who fights to rescue a 12-year-old girl.” Catherine Chan plays the girl; Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee, and Danny Hoch also star.  Boaz Yakin (Death in Love) directed from his own screenplay.  According to Variety, this is the first of a three-picture distribution between Lionsgate and IM Global — the other two are Dredd and Protection, both dateless.

Statham will next be seen in Blitz, which debuts overseas later this week — no North American release date is currently scheduled.  Statham is also tapped to play a former Navy Seal The Killer Elite, and an ex-SAS agent in both Echelon and The Expendables 2.

Despite the film’s critical drubbing, the financial success of Clash of the Titans ($493 million worldwide) surely opened some doors for director Louis Letterier (especially once he handed the franchise keys to Jonathan Liebesman).  According to The Playlist, the heist thriller Now You See Me lies behind Door #1.  Now You See Me is a spec script from Edward Ricourt and Boaz Yakin (Prince of Persia) about “a crack FBI squad in a game of cat-and-mouse against a super team of the world’s greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances and showers the profits on to their audiences.”  Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek) will produce alongside Yakin and Bobby Cohen (Revolutionary Road).

Leterrier confirms to The Playlist that he’s still attached to Gravity, a high concept disaster flick where the Earth stops spinning and loses its gravitational pull.  There’s also the looming possibility of a Y: The Last Man adaptation; Leterrier recently suggested the 60-issue comic series may work best as a TV show.  However, both of those projects are further down the to-do list.  We’ll see if Now You See Me is up next for Leterrier, or if he’d prefer to knock on a few more doors first.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci continue to flex their producing muscles.  Not content with just steering projects such as Hawaii Five-0 and Cowboys & Aliens, the dynamic duo, under their Kurtzman Orci Paper Products production company, will be teaming up with Summit Entertainment to bring the spec Now You See Me to the big screen.  See Me is written by Edward Ricourt, a member of Marvel Studios’ Writing Program, and Boaz Yakin, known for Remember the Titans (yay!) and The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (boo!).  Hit the jump for details on the plot.

Walt Disney has sent over a ton of images from their upcoming video game based movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.  While we’ve posted a number of them in the past, there are a bunch of new ones mixed in.  Rather than just post the new ones, I’ve put them all together and in high resolution after the jump.

The press junket for Prince of Persia is this weekend in London, which means you can expect tons of movie clips and info on the film to hit the net very soon.  Until then…

Please allow me to introduce this report from Latino Review that Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Duhamel are attached to star in Sympathy for the Devil, with Boaz Yakin of Remember the Titans fame set to direct.  The film, which reportedly awaits the sale of international and DVD rights to go forward, would feature Jackson and Duhamel as policemen who are caught in the middle of an apocalyptic battle between heaven and hell.

Jackson is at his best when he has plenty of scenery to chew, and Sympathy sounds like it will have an abundant supply.  Duhamel has never been partaken in a particularly stellar project, but at the very least we can agree he was certainly not the worst part of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  Likewise, Yakin has yet to prove himself and nothing on his resume hints at the ability to direct such a pulpy film, but based on Jackson alone this one could be a lot of fun if it eventually makes its way to theaters.

For the full plot synopsis, hit the jump.