SAFE HOUSE - archive from 18th February 2012.

Saw 'SAFE HOUSE' this week at my local independant picture house with a couple of mates. This latest Denzel Washington actioner is Directed by Daniel Espinosa and co-stars Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson and Vera Farmiga in a CIA cat & mouse romp set this time in South Africa. Also supporting is Robert Patrick, Sam Shepard, and Liam Cunningham who all add gravitas to the plot. The action comes at you hard & fast (Bourne style) and the plot is not dissimilar to something seen before (Mission:Impossible) but it is gritty (hand held camera work) and reasonably intelligent.

The story here surounds former CIA operative Tobin Frost (Washington) who has jumped the fence and turned international criminal. He has acquired a data storage devise from a rogue MI6 Agent and when together they are ambushed forcing Frost to surrender himself to the local American Embassy in Cape Town. He is quickly moved to the 'safe house' which is being guarded by Matt Weston (Reynolds) - a rookie agent recently promoted into this dead beat position.

Needless to say the 'safe house' gets attacked leaving a trail of bloody broken bodies, but Weston escapes with Front in tow. What follows is a cat & mouse game as Frost breaks free from Weston, Weston tries to re-secure Frost, Frost gains the upper hand, another safe house is revealed that provides for the ultimate showdown, and then Weston wins the day albeit not necessarily in one piece but retrieves the data storage device and learns what is contained therein - using it for his eventual gain.

Ryan Reynolds is quickly proving his acting chops and plays the reluctant hero well, but I can't help thinking that once again Denzel phone's it in with a part that he is all too comfortable with, and you have seen before in other roles before . . . and since! Brendan Gleeson is the devlish wolf in sheeps clothing as David Barlow (senior CIA and superior to Weston) but can he really be trusted and Vera Farmiga as Catherine Linklater is also with the CIA but really surplus to requirements and canon fodder in the end! 

This film cost US$85M to make and brought in a global box office haul of US$208M and it picked up one award win and seven other nominations. Entertaining enough, fast paced, well written, well acted out and worth the price of a ticket for an intelligent action drama of basic cops & robbers with a few added twists & turns that is set somewhere different for a welcome change!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-