Safe House
Rated R
1 Hour 55 Minutes
Rated R
1 Hour 55 Minutes
Plot
A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
Cast
Denzel Washington
Ryan Reynolds
Brendan Gleeson
Rotten Tomatoes Rating
Brendan Gleeson
Rotten Tomatoes Rating
53%
My Grade
C+
If Denzel Washington is in a movie, there is a 98.87 percent chance I will go see it, no matter what the movie is about. There are a rare few exceptions, like I did not see The Book of Eli. Only reason being I was broke and jobless at the time, and couldn't afford to see a movie. He is one of my favorite actors. Sure, he's is peddling out movies like Training Day anymore, but he's still a reliable actor. He can make any movie slightly better just simply by being in the film. Same goes with people like Meryl Streep or Kate Winslet. They just have that lasting effect.
Well Denzel Washington is the star of Safe House, the new action movie about a young CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) who is on the run with a fugitive. The one thing about Denzel is that he's never had that big box office draw, even though he's been in tons of action films. People see his movies of course, but he doesn't get those Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp type box offie hits. Safe House would not be a movie I could see making a ton of money anyway. It's currently made $98 million, which is a lot but there are movie stars who have movies that make that much in one weekend. I'm off topic here, my bad. Safe House is a great example of a movie that is not good nor is it bad. It's one of those movies that rests on that fine line in the middle. I call it the decent, but forgettable line.
Well Denzel Washington is the star of Safe House, the new action movie about a young CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) who is on the run with a fugitive. The one thing about Denzel is that he's never had that big box office draw, even though he's been in tons of action films. People see his movies of course, but he doesn't get those Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp type box offie hits. Safe House would not be a movie I could see making a ton of money anyway. It's currently made $98 million, which is a lot but there are movie stars who have movies that make that much in one weekend. I'm off topic here, my bad. Safe House is a great example of a movie that is not good nor is it bad. It's one of those movies that rests on that fine line in the middle. I call it the decent, but forgettable line.
The problem I had with the movie is the plot. Not for being far fetched or silly. But for being weak and not very involved. Washington's character has stolen a very valuable piece of information but none of our "hero's" seem to know this until 3/4th's of the way into the movie. He's being chased after by a group of bad guys but we don't truly understant their relevance until closer to the end of the movie. We have an idea, but it's never clarified until much later. It's because we aren't explained the gravity of what's at stake. We don't get how valuable this piece of information truly is. We don't know what Washington's true intentions with this info is. Wether he really wants to sell it or if he wants to reveal it. This is the main plot of the film, but it seems to be a background piece for the action scenes.
The other issue is Ryan Reynolds character He seems to be rather indifferent the whole time. Most of the movie he's intent on bringing Washington in. He has no reason to trust or like him. Yet at times he shows moments where he is on his side, but has no reason to be. Then he goes back to being against him. Then back to being with him, it got confusing. There is also a mole in the CIA, of course there is, there has to be in a movie like this. It's supposed to be a big secret, but let's face it, you can tell who it is from the moment you are told there is someone on the inside. You know at the point it has to be a main character, and there aren't many. I was hoping they would prove me wrong, but they didn't. The mold was connected to the other bad guys, but they just did a very loose job at giving us explanations. Sometimes not explaining plot lines works, but movies like this...they whole story is there to set up a big explanation and I just wasn't feeling it. Very bland and distant plot line.
The other issue is Ryan Reynolds character He seems to be rather indifferent the whole time. Most of the movie he's intent on bringing Washington in. He has no reason to trust or like him. Yet at times he shows moments where he is on his side, but has no reason to be. Then he goes back to being against him. Then back to being with him, it got confusing. There is also a mole in the CIA, of course there is, there has to be in a movie like this. It's supposed to be a big secret, but let's face it, you can tell who it is from the moment you are told there is someone on the inside. You know at the point it has to be a main character, and there aren't many. I was hoping they would prove me wrong, but they didn't. The mold was connected to the other bad guys, but they just did a very loose job at giving us explanations. Sometimes not explaining plot lines works, but movies like this...they whole story is there to set up a big explanation and I just wasn't feeling it. Very bland and distant plot line.
That being said, it wasn't horrible. I understood what was happening, as vague as it was. The move has two solid lead performances form Washington and Reynolds. Washington can make any character likeable, he's become an expert at that. Reynolds gives a good performance even though his character was on the weak side. He's always been hit and miss with me. I like him more in serious roles or at least action films. I'm not to keen on his comedic stuff, which was his bread and butter. Brendan Gleeson and Vera Farmiga round out the main supporting cast and both do a good job with what little they had to do.
There is a lot of action scenes througout the film. It's pretty fast paced, so there isn't a lot of downtime. Which again, hurts the story, but it's great if all you want is gun fire and people throwing punches. The stunts are all very impressive and the action, for the most part, is all well done. I like big action scenes where I can tell what's going on. Sometimes in movies like this, there is a lot of super close shots or cameras waving around so that it's hard to tell what the hell is going on. But these scenes were taut and well executed. Lot of people getting shot and dying. Some things go boom. It was loud and crazy!
Safe House had potential to be a much better CIA thriller than it was. But they decided to be more heavy on action and sporadic on plot. Movies like Transformers can get away with that, but movies like this can be dragged down by that. So to me it just became a fun movie to watch but it's not one I loved and I won't remember it in a few weeks.
There is a lot of action scenes througout the film. It's pretty fast paced, so there isn't a lot of downtime. Which again, hurts the story, but it's great if all you want is gun fire and people throwing punches. The stunts are all very impressive and the action, for the most part, is all well done. I like big action scenes where I can tell what's going on. Sometimes in movies like this, there is a lot of super close shots or cameras waving around so that it's hard to tell what the hell is going on. But these scenes were taut and well executed. Lot of people getting shot and dying. Some things go boom. It was loud and crazy!
Safe House had potential to be a much better CIA thriller than it was. But they decided to be more heavy on action and sporadic on plot. Movies like Transformers can get away with that, but movies like this can be dragged down by that. So to me it just became a fun movie to watch but it's not one I loved and I won't remember it in a few weeks.
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