SAFE (15, 94 mins) ** Starring Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, James Hong, Chris Sarandon, Anson Mount, Robert John Burke, Reggie Lee. Director: Boaz Yaki

As the title of this testosterone-fuelled game of cat and mouse intimates, we’re in familiar territory with hard man Jason Statham.

Safe is bland and overcooked comfort food for the English actor’s legions of admirers, who have thrilled to the energetic fight sequences and explosive shoot-outs in The Transporter and Crank films.

It’s more of the same bone-crushing mayhem, transplanted to the mean streets of New York, where Statham gleefully tosses out the salty one-liners in his trademark growl as he takes a breather between pummelling myriad nefarious henchmen to a bloody pulp.

Statham strikes a permanent scowl as disgraced former NYPD officer Luke Wright, who was betrayed by dirty cops in his precinct under the control of Captain Wolf (Burke).

Doomed to live on the streets like a hobo and forego any personal ties because anyone he befriends ends up in the morgue, Luke has learned to fade into the background.

During a failed suicide attempt on a Metro platform, he encounters mathematical genius Mei (Chan), who is being used by Han Jiao (Hong) as a counting machine to keep track of the Triads’ assets.

When the Russian mob snatches Mei in order to steal the Triads’ dirty secrets, Luke intervenes, all guns blazing.

Little does he realise that Mei also holds the key to the upcoming re-election of Mayor Tremello (Sarandon), who is a political pawn at the mercy of his conniving chief of staff, Alex Rosen (Mount).

The violence is ramped up as the leading man cuts a swathe through the Big Apple.

Set your expectations low, and Safe meets them.