I hate having to write reviews of movies like this. Spectacular films are fun to review because I want other people to go see them. Terrible movies are even better because I love using creative language to tear them apart. But then there are movies like Safe House, a film which sits squarely in the middle of the spectrum. It's not good enough to highly recommend, but it's not bad enough to pan.
Safe House tells the story of a low-ranking CIA agent named Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). He wants a promotion, but his inexperience leaves him stuck babysitting a safe house in South Africa where the CIA sometimes stores criminals or persons of interest. One day, a team brings in a notorious ex-CIA agent named Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington). Things go downhill when a group of armed men storm the safe house, and Weston must go on the run all while protecting Frost.
The film's main strength is its hectic action sequences, which keep the film moving at a brisk pace. Washington is his usual badass self, racking up a slew of inventive kills. Both he and Reynolds engage in some awesome hand-to-hand combat scenes. They break arms and smash faces, all with a terrifying sense of brutality. If you enjoyed the combat scenes in the Bourne trilogy, you will appreciate the same formula here.
Despite the well-choreographed action, the camera work is a bit choppy. Fast and furious edits make it legitimately difficult to tell what is happening, especially during the car chases. This sloppy editing prevents the movie's action from reaching the heights of the Bourne films or such classics as Die Hard.
Thankfully, the film also boasts solid performances from the talented cast. Reynolds is appropriately manic as the inexperienced agent thrown into a terrible situation. Veteran actors Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson give solid performances as higher-ranking CIA officers trying to diffuse the debacle's damage.
Surprisingly, my one qualm came from Washington's performance. It wasn't bad, but I didn't feel he reached the commanding heights he could have given the material. He plays a murderous traitor who racks up a large body count, but when he wasn't breaking skulls, he just seemed like a normal guy. I was expecting Training Day and I got The Pelican Brief.
That said, even the stronger performances couldn't hide a predictable story. The screenplay relies on spy thriller clich
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