FORMAT: DVD
Denzel Washington stars as Tobin Frost, an ex-CIA agent who has gone rouge. He waltzes into an American consulate in South Africa and is immediately taken to a black site ran by green agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). When the safe house is stormed by gunmen looking to execute Frost, Weston has to take him on the run. Naturally, they’ll have to learn to trust each other in order to survive.
Safe House is the kind of movie Denzel would’ve made with Tony Scott if he was still with us. Of course, Scott would’ve upped the ante on the action a bit, but director Daniel (Morbius) Espinosa does an OK job in that department. If anything, it’s a good showcase for Washington, who gets to sink his teeth into a slightly more sinister version of his usual persona. He also seems to be having fun playing off Reynolds, especially during the scenes where Denzel is getting into his head and playing mind games with him. Reynolds seems to be a little out of his depth in a dramatic role, but that kind of works for his character. He does get a good fight scene with Joel Kinnamon late in the flick though.
The supporting cast is strong too. There’s a lot of scenes of Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, and Sam Shepard giving each other stern looks in the situation room. These scenes could’ve been deadly dull, but the three of them all came ready to play.
My favorite part of the film was how Frost’s reputation preceded him. Every time we walked into a room, someone would gasp, “My God, that’s Tobin Frost!” It’s almost a shame he doesn’t do anything to live up to that reputation.
Overall, Safe House is pretty standard cloak and dagger fare. It’s not gonna knock your socks off or anything, but it’s competently made and moderately entertaining. It’s the sort of movie you’d watch on a long flight. It’s diverting enough until you get where you’re going and promptly forgotten once you’re on your way.
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