First Hit: An action packed violent film, which was fairly well executed.
The premise of this film was that a young girl named Mei (played by Catherine Chan) is without a true family, is intensely intelligent and can remember any assortment of numbers numbers.
She is being used by a Han Jiao (played by James Hong) to memorize his businesses in NYC’s Chinatown. In a separate story Luke Wright (played by Jason Statham) is an out of place cage fighter who wins and loses based on what he is told to do. He is a lost man, but intense.
You know he has a intense background because he displays intelligence along with wise grit. However, he’s on the edge and he’s about to kill himself because some rough Russians killed his wife – his life. The Russians and Chinese are tempting the police for protection of their illegal gambling, drug and money laundering operations. Sound convoluted?
It is but the object of this film is to throw together two unlikely people, the little girl and Wright, as a way to save themselves and each other. They do this through some action packed scenes, some with fists, some with guns, all with guile.
Chan is focused and very believable as the young girl with a special talent combined with bravery. Statham is perfect as the intelligent rough focused caring protector. Hong was his usual outstanding character. He rarely gives an under-the-radar performance. Boaz Yakin wrote the convoluted screenplay which actually works in the end. Yakin provided strong direction, which meant he made his convoluted script work.
Overall: This films had a lot of violence, portrayed people in a generic way (Chinese and Russian), which may have deterred from the film but overall it was entertaining.