Thanks to several recent high-profile leaks of confidential documents from sites like WikiLeaks, the time is right for an insightful film that raises questions of accountability in the operations of the international intelligence community. “Safe House” is not that film, choosing to bury any chance of an intelligent plot with rote spy action.
CIA officer Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is tasked with guarding a rarely-used agency safe house in South Africa. His normally boring task is interrupted one day by the arrival of rogue former officer Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), who has just surrendered himself to the US government.
Washington is an intense actor, and the film spends considerable time establishing him as an almost mythic figure, who can intimidate with a look and whose sinister grin says more than words. It’s dumbfounding when director Daniel Espinosa spends the rest of the movie overwhelming charisma with hails of repetitive gunfire.
Reynolds does relatively well, avoiding the smirking self-assuredness of most characters he plays. He’s also backed by a host of big names in the supporting cast, including Sam Shepard and Brendan Gleeson, but their characters are paper-thin and cast in black and white.
Washington uses his screen time well and is always worth watching, but “Safe House” never comes close to being anything more than a mediocre action flick. Rather than creating a clever story or breaking new ground, it’s content to just hunker down and play it safe.
