Safe House
2012 Directed by Daniel Espinosa
Synopsis
No one is safe
Denzel Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA, who comes back onto the grid after a decade on the run. When the South African safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative (Ryan Reynolds) escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.
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I might have [zoom in] been able to [pan out, veer towards left] forgive Denzel's [shake camera] lacklustre performance [extreme close up] and see past [zoom out] the humongous plot holes [zoom in, zoom out, sharp right] if the camera work [nudge cameraman] hadn't been so [pan left, pan right, zoom out] friggin' annoying!!! [fade to black]
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Safe House is a film that uses incessant and very loud noises to compensate for forgettable characters, a lack of chemistry between Washington and Reynolds and some run of the mill action. It is easy to see why so many reviews make comparisons with the films of Tony Scott. Ignoring the Denzel connection this is both the sort of material (CIA conspiracy action film, exotic location and mentor-mentee relationship) and style Scott became famous for. The problem is that these sort of stories are so commonplace that it is hard for this film to stand apart.
Denzel Washington is in his comfort zone here (anybody still remember a time when he used to actually be one of the best actors…
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Currently watching some films I've either bought, rented, or had on my computer for a while and never watched them. The thirteenth one: Safe House
This had so much potential to be a very well made action thriller. It had a unique plot with a highly interesting character. The reason it failed? Poor execution, generic, and predictable. That's what made this entirely un-interesting.
In Cape Town, South Africa, Weston, played by Ryan Reynolds is the head of a safe house for the CIA. Been there for 12 months and no "action". One day, one of the world's most hunted men, Tobin Frost, wanted for Espionage walks into a U.S. Consulate after being tailed and shot at by armed men. Frost…
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Time's a-wasting. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock...
-Tobin FrostWhat a waste of a film. It's not horrible by any means and has a great look, but that's it. The story just drags and the action is just average. Considering it stars Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds with Brendan Gleeson in a supporting role you'd think this would have turned out better. Ok, maybe Reynolds doesn't have such a great track record, but still.
The story has extremely predictable elements in it and the end of the film just seems to drag. It's like the credits role 15 minutes after the movie should have ended. I'm not sure why this cast got involved in this project because the story was obviously in the script.
In the end it's not horrible, but nothing special by any means.
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Half of this is a review. The other half is a discussion that I invite participation in from everyone.
There was a moment in the theater while watching this film, where a feeling just hit me like a freight train. I had seen this film before. Multiple times in fact. Sure, the location was different, there was a different set of actors, and the plot had its own gimmick. But I had damn well seen this film a dozen time in the last 10 years.
From that point on I called every plot point, and every character motivation. While my fellow audience members saw a film, I was watching a group of lazy filmmakers throw typical espionage conventions at the…
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"Safe House" is a loud, violent, Scott-esque thriller that ranges from servicable to mediocre. Its cast is strong and the film serves up some tense moments, but, ultimately, it suffers from the you've-seen-this-all-before syndrome. "Safe House" is not a bad film; its script just never offers up anything truly original.
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Entertaining action flick, nothing special. Classic can't trust the agency type thing, but Denzel is a bad ass and manages to elevate the scenes he is in to make it fun enough.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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A compelling first and second act, despite a boring, uninspired lovestory.
I like Denzel, he is always fun to watch.
At the last third the movie is getting boring and predictable. -
Just like The Bourne Legacy, Safe House mostly consists of chases, this time through Capetown. There's not much character background or development and it ends pretty lame. It's nice to see Reynolds in a more serious role, though, without his endless quips in other movies.
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Denzel Washington is a charismatic actor capable of delivering powerful performances. In Safe House he brings us yet another solid performance, however not in the class of his Training Day stunner.
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Washington is good, but Reynolds is even better in his role and the film has constant action and a good plot. What more could you ask from an adventure film?
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INGREDIENTS:
One (1) naive rookie [cop/agent/government official] who wishes they could leave their boring [desk job/safe house] for some action in the field
One (1) jaded veteran [cop/agent/government official] wrongfully accused of [murder/treason] who holds the [key/USB/microchip] to political corruption
One (1) shady, high-ranking [copy/agent/government official] who may not be who they seem
INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix ingredients idly.
Coat liberally with faux cross-processed glaze.
Barely heat.
Serves no one.
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Agents go rogue. One is witty. One is morally ambiguous. Beautiful cities get ignored as chase scene parking structures. Nothing is colorful. Nothing gets more intense or personal, just louder. And that's enough for some people.
'Safe House' is routine. It is shot with no imagination, the score is utterly forgettable, and the leads aren't given enough room to play with.
Thankfully, Reynolds and Washington take what they are given and create a tolerable, sometimes 'not-bad' nod worthy action movie. They play their parts to a tee. It's just a shame we've seen these parts in every movie with secret agents.
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A cool concept, good use of location, great cast, two extremely charismatic leads, good action sequences, so why isn't this more fun?
You think by assembling Ryan Reynolds as a rookie CIA agent, and Denzel Washington as a rogue one, there would be some witty banter, energy, and fun moments. Nope. These actor's personalities are completed wasted. This movie is deadly serious, especially with a plot so formulaic, you would think they'd want to inject some life into it. It also features numerous cuts back to the CIA, whose sole purpose to give exposition to the audience. Vera Farmiga's character is so disposable, a Production assistant could have played it. The movie's style and cinematography also feels completely ripped off from Tony Scott. If you didn't see the credits, you would swear by the look, feel, and presence of Denzel that Scott directed it. Worth seeing for some decent action, especially a gritty fight scene between Reynolds and Joel Kinnaman