Safe House

'SAFE HOUSE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Denzel Washington is teamed with Ryan Reynolds for this action/thriller buddy film. It was directed by Daniel Espinosa and written by David Guggenheim. It tells the story of a rogue CIA agent fugitive and a rookie CIA agent on the run together after the safe house the fugitive was being held at is attacked. Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Shepard costar. The movie is intense, fast-paced fun with two outstanding leading men performances.

Washington plays Tobin Frost, a former CIA agent who is said to have gone rogue and is now their most wanted fugitive. Reynolds plays Matt Weston, a rookie CIA agent who is tasked with guarding a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. When Frost turns himself in to the American Consulate, in order to avoid capture by mercenaries pursuing him, he's taken to Weston's safe house. While Frost is being interrogated mercenaries attack the safe house and Frost and Weston flee. Weston tries to keep Frost under control while avoiding their pursuers and trying to make their way to another safe house. In the process he learns from the veteran CIA agent and begins to question his guilt as the two, of course, oddly bond.

Washington and Reynolds aren't the best pairing but both do their parts well. Their characters are fully developed and interesting. The directing is energetic and sufficiently flashy as well, keeping the story going at just the right pace to keep it involving. Not a masterpiece but still an entertaining suspense thriller.

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SAFE HOUSE is a South Africa-filmed action flick that inevitably finds itself heavily indebted to the whole Paul Greengrass BOURNE style in the tale of a cop and a crim who have to team up when they find themselves pursued by a ruthless and murderous gang.

What we have here is an entirely familiar film that nevertheless manages to score a few points along the way, mostly in the action stakes. For SAFE HOUSE is a fast paced, action-oriented movie that features a handful of breakneck shoot-outs, and a film that's held together for the most part by another assured role for Denzel Washington.

Washington can do these kinds of roles in his sleep by now, and it's fair to say that the character of Tobin Frost is hardly a stretch. Nevertheless, he's the best thing in the film by far, delivering a kind of laconic toughness that really works in its favour. Ryan Reynolds is, inevitably, less impressive as the forgettable younger lead, but there are a handful of decent supporting parts for the likes of Liam Cunningham, Brendan Gleeson, Vera Farmiga, and Robert Patrick.

While the plot is routine to say the least, SAFE HOUSE at least looks good and the cinematography is strong. The plot has its share of twists and turns to keep viewers engaged, and I thought the violent but inevitable climax was particularly decent. Not a great film then, but a solid one nonetheless.

It is so very difficult to find new material when you piece together a governmental conspiracy movie. Safe House is able to do it to a point. The greatest success of this movie is the usage of modern film techniques. Too often the bulging budget and ability to edit in effects makes action/thriller movies extremely unrealistic. Safe House does the opposite. It takes all of these techniques and uses them to make the movie raw and real.

The actors were hand-picked perfectly for their roles. Ryan Reynolds is the actor you have to use when you want to put a likable, relatable family man in a difficult situation. As a CIA operative caught up in something far outside his experience, he fits in perfectly. As for Denzel Washington, there is little that he can't do. For the unique character of Tobin Frost, there is no better man to fill the role. Together they form a storyline that merely needs to be able to stand on its own two feet. The storyline does stand on its own. That being said, it is the weakest part of the movie. The twists have all been seen before. This movie doesn't offer new plot points to the old conspiracy theory movie. It merely adds new characters. The new characters are great, but it is not enough. In order for the movie to be great, it needed to give something new to the story.

I must say that the end was beautiful. Without giving anything away, it was gracefully preformed. It wrapped up the loose ends that too many other movies simply leave hanging. It adds a whole other dimension to Ryan Reynolds' character. It will, without a doubt, leave you wanting more but somehow completely satisfied.

Safe House is worth a trip to the theatre. With thrillers such as this one, the action is better on the big screen. Between the action and the actors, you will not be disappointed. Next to Liam Neeson's The Grey, this is one of the best action movies so far this year. The thing is, it could have been even better. Too bad.

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If you have seen conspiracy flicks like "Enemy Of The State", "The Bourne Identity", "XIII", "Unknown" and so on and so forth, you really won't be surprised by this movie. The story presents nothing new and is about the usual stereotypes: the good one turn out to be the bad ones, the bad ones turn out to be the good ones, the weak ones turn out to be the strong ones and so one. I think you get what I mean. The movie has no big surprises after all.

But if this kind of movie is well done, it can still merit a rating of eight points. I only give six point five and for this site seven points because of the mediocre camera work that was shaking and irritating at some points of the movie.

The rest of the film is quite decent. The locations are interesting and the movie takes place in Cape Town in South Africa and not in Europe or North America. The fighting and action scenes are very well done and with the visual and sound effects in cinema, it's a pleasant entertainment to watch this movie for sure. It's a good flick to change your mind, to relax and to take a break from your everyday life for sure. The acting is also rather good with two strong lead actors that are a very cool Denzel Washington and a sympathetic and determined Ryan Reynolds.

The only little flaw is that I would have liked to know more about both characters, especially about their past and what really led them to do what they actually do in the movie.

The movie simply has not the greatest script to stand out among many other similar flicks but it's still a good film. I would suggest you to rather watch the movies I talked about in my introduction or classics like "I As In Icarus" but if you have seen and liked them all, you will surely appreciate this work, too.

I'll be honest. When I saw the trailer, I was madly excited. It looked fantastic. But then, after a while, I remembered, that the main point of a trailer is to do just that. Hype the film, while revealing literally all the main plot scenes and parts. I didn't know if it was the case with 'Safe House', since, hey, it's Denzel Washington. That man doesn't just do any role.

I just got back from the movie theater, and am I glad that I was wrong. The movie is fantastic, electrifying. Do know that I don't just 'get off' on any action flick. In most cases, I just watch and forget. This was actually, fantastic. I don't have a single bad word to say about it, the way it was directed, acted or anything else. Everything was simply fantastic.

I realize my words sound absurd, and the score looks the same, but it really is worth it. I didn't see an action movie this well written, and this well acted in a really, really long time. Of course, by the end of the movie, any experienced watcher will figure out the ending by himself, but even though you 'get it', it's still extremely fun to sit through and see how the pieces connect.

I really hate long reviews, so I'm trying to make this one as short and sweet as possible. Lastly, have in mind that not one cast member failed his role. Ryan was fantastic, even better then I could've imagined (a nice showing of his acting skills after Green Lantern and Change-Up), and Denzel, what to say that hasn't been already said about that man's acting. Phenomenal doesn't cut it.

Go and see it. It's much better then anything else thats currently 'showing'.