**original release date: 2/10/2012**
Every now and then, you'll see a movie advertised that you have no idea what the film is about simply because the preview only hypes up the movie based on who is in it. "The Expendables" is a great example of this. Watch the preview. You won't have any idea of what the movie is about, but you don't care because of the cast.
"Safe House" was one of those films. The preview pretty much consisted of Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, and a lot of shit blowing up. It seemed that it didn't need anything else because it did well at the box office. After seeing it, I was left feeling like that's literally all the movie was too.
After a secretive information exchange goes down poorly, U.S. traitor Tobin Frost (Washington) decides to be bold and go to the U.S. consulate and turns himself in. The C.I.A. takes him to a safe house in the middle of nowhere, being ran by analyst Matt Weston (Reynolds), who has never seen any action in the field. Not soon after Frost arrives, the safe house is compromised, forcing Weston and Frost to run. The more Weston probes Frost about what happened, the more questions come up as the clock ticks down.
Director Daniel Espinosa makes his American film debut here with screenwriter David Guggenheim to make a fairly complicated action movie. The only reason I say this film is complicated is because the dialogue, compared to the score and action sequences, is extremely quiet. And the trouble is that seemingly all the important dialogue is practically whispered, so it's quite difficult to know what the hell is going on half the time.
Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are two of my favorite actors, but the chemistry between the two is not as compelling as what you would think. Washington is brilliant as usual, playing up the creepy and manipulative nature of Tobin Frost very well. Reynolds, however, plays his part extremely flat and flacid. I've been watching his films for a long time, and I know he's a lot better than this. Hell, his performance in "Smokin' Aces" was better than this, and that film was horrible. I expected much more.
Aside from the inaudible dialogue, the problem with "Safe House" is over-predictable nature of the film's plot. A character will say something about what will probably happen, and then it happens not even five minutes after it has been said. Washington says to Reynolds: "Do you think I'm going to let you walk me that door?" Five minutes later, he manages to escape. Is it truly necessary to telegraph every action so the audience can follow the bouncing ball? Maybe that's why a lot of the dialogue was so quiet. Sure the action sequences were pretty cool. Too bad the story wasn't as compelling as the action.
MY TWO CENTS: "Safe House" is that rare Denzel Washington film that misses the mark. Even with Ryan Reynolds, this film never quite takes off and lives up the potential it could have had. This is a great example of how the cast is bigger than the movie. Call me crazy, but I expect good writing with good cast and action. Better luck next time I suppose.
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