Cast: Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Rating: 3/5
Safe House can prove to be quite a safe bet!
By Priyanka Ketkar
It is raining action these days- Guns and goons, spies and criminals, good and evil and so on. Haven't you had enough of it already? Apparently not. Daniel Espinosa's Safe House is yet another action-packed film with loads of CIA stuff, spies, frauds, and deceits. Is it any different? No. Is it any good? Let's find out...
It is a "Safe House" and you are its housekeeper. Sounds like a very low-profile job? Not really. You are a housekeeper who is in charge of the safety of this secret location and the inmates of this house. But who are you? You are a CIA agent; a young, aspiring CIA agent for whom, this is the first step into the real world. Are you capable enough? Do you deserve a promotion?
Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is one such CIA rookie who is in charge of the Cape Town Safe House. The house which has been out of action for the past nine months suddenly witnesses its first house guest, CIA's most wanted rogue agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington). But someone doesn't want to see this man alive. An attack on the Safe House leaves Matt miffed and confused. He wants to prove his capabilities and this looks like the perfect opportunity. But is he ready for the action? Can he save Tobin? Can he prove himself? All of this is possible provided he manages to stay alive with people behind his life and many obstacles and revelations thrown in his path which shake his entire belief system.
The movie is slightly longer than required. Also, the relationship between Weston and Frost is left unexplored and feels incomplete. Weston's love angle and the final MI: 4-like scene will simply leave a bad taste. Although the movie doesn't have much to offer in terms of story but it compensates with brilliant action sequences and splendid acting. Denzel Washington is intense and superb as always but Ryan Reynolds is the one who really steals the show. Each and every emotion of his, each feeling directly touches you. His pain, his confusion, his confidence...everything feels real.
If you want to experience something new and different, you might not find much in the "Safe House". Yet, despite all its faults a one-time watch will keep you hooked, on your toes and take you on its journey from one (Un)Safe House to another.