By Isaac Siegeegeegemund- Broka
Staff Writer
Experience is the best teacher. It’s no wonder, then, that “Safe House,” released Feb. 10, suffers from the shortcomings of amateurs like director David Espinosa and writer David Guggenheim. However, the involvement of seasoned actors and a practiced cinematographer allow “Safe House” to overcompensate for its weaknesses and entertain audiences.
Young CIA operative Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) has the least flashy job the CIA can provide. He tends to a “safe house,” an undercover location used for hiding witnesses or government figures when necessary—which tends to be very infrequent.
The seemingly pointless monotony of Weston’s job is turned on its head when Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), an infamous rogue ex-CIA agent, is brought to Weston’s safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. Frost’s enemies attempt to break into the safe house to abduct him. Weston, not wanting to lose his “house guest,” takes Frost and flees from the house.
As Weston and Frost hide from Frost’s enemies together, Frost gently invades Weston’s mind, pushing him to question his relationship both with his Parisian girlfriend and with his superiors at the CIA.
The lines between “good” and “bad” blur even further after a microchip containing information about government corruption surfaces among Weston’s problems.
The film’s plot is intriguing but rough around the edges due to significant pacing problems. Petty “catch me if you can” style chases and brief unnecessary dramas between Weston and his girlfriend fragment the otherwise interesting (if not a tad cliché) plot concerning mass government intelligence corruption.
The film’s attempt to give the audience fast-paced thrills—which compose a large majority of screen time—often leaves more interesting plot elements by the wayside. Weston, doing serious CIA work for the first time in his life, clearly faces devastating internal struggles every time he is forced to kill. Better-developed thematic ideas about the effect of killing on the mind could have hoisted “Safe House” into the upper echelon of action films.
That notwithstanding, the action in “Safe House” is exceptional, finding an ideal balance between grandiose explosions, chaotic chases and intimate, bloody hand-to-hand combat. Weston’s fight scenes are a rattier take on Bourne-style action, stylized but imprecise. Weston’s clear lack of field experience contrasts nicely with Tobin’s calm, controlled brutality.
Denzel Washington is known for his versatility as an actor, playing everyone from Malcolm X to Herman Boone. His role that perhaps surfaces most often, however, is that of the hardened, but principled fighter, as seen in “Déjà Vu,” “Out of Time,” “The Book of Eli” and his other action thrillers.
In “Safe House,” Washington’s standard action character is given a new dichotomy between likeable and sinister; regardless of Frost’s despicable traitorous qualities, it’s impossible not to find his cynical charisma and calm omniscience somewhat enviable.
After blunders in a series of rom-coms and half-baked superhero movies, Ryan Reynolds’ acting prospects weren’t promising. Nevertheless, his portrayal of an equally naïve and confident operative incorporates both daring appeal and emotional depth; Reynolds has finally proved that he’s capable of more than two dimensions.
“Safe House” cinematographer Oliver Wood is no novice; he was also behind the cinematography for all three Bourne movies. In “Safe House,” Wood uses a style similar to that in the Bourne films: controlled and precise while leaving room for vivid colorscapes and tense action.
Although hampered by its raggedly structured plot, “Safe House” is carried to success by acting duo Reynolds and Washington as well as the artful visual constructions of cinematographer Wood. “Safe house” is rated R and is playing in theaters nationwide.
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