SAFE HOUSE ( 2012 ) – The Review

Exotic faraway locales, car chases, massive firepower, deceitful bosses, and intense hand-to-hand combat have been the staples of spy thrillers for many decades. The genre has been attracting more prestige stars these days because one film series has injected a lot of life ( almost a shot of adrenaline ) and box office bucks into what had become standard ” who’s got the microfilm ” flicks : the Bourne trilogy. These Matt Damon starrers turned up the volume so much that even the king of spies, James Bond took notice and overhauled the almost fifty year film  series ( CASINO ROYALE moves at a much faster pace ). The new spy thriller, SAFE HOUSE, has the non-stop action set pieces, but doubles the protagonists. Taking a break from the raucous ( and often romantic ) comedies, and after a poorly received super-hero stint, is Ryan Reynolds. And for the big prestige factor, how about two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington? As far as buddy-action chase movies go, let’s see how well these two play together.

For the opening scenes of SAFE HOUSE, we get to know novice CIA agent Matt Weston ( Reynolds ). He’s stuck spinning his wheels, assigned to watch over a rarely used secret safe house ( title!) in sleepy Capetown, South Africa. The house is a place the agency uses for detaining and interrogating prisoners before whisking them out of the country. Matt wants to be reassigned to Paris to be closer to his cute French girlfriend ( she’s got no idea that he’s CIA ), but his mentor back at Langley headquarters, Barlow ( Brendan Gleeson ) can’t help. And then rogue ex-agent Tobin Frost ( Washington ) is spotted there. Soon Weston and Frost’s paths collide and both are on the run with killers matching their every move. Matt’s almost over his head as he tries to keep them both alive while making sure the brilliant, more experienced Frost doesn’t make a break for freedom. All the while Matt is in contact with the agency headquarters where Barlow clashes with Linkletter ( Vera Farmiga ) and the agency director ( Sam Shepard ). Can the two men escape the armies of assassins and make to another safe house outside Capetown?

This is one exhausting time at the multiplex. The action set pieces are disorienting and unrelenting. The choppy, quick-cut editing style coupled with the hand-held camerawork is needlessly dizzying. The same hand-held shooting becomes more distracting during the few quiet dialogue scenes and makes it difficult to focus in on the acting. As for the acting, Reynolds proves to be a good action star, but it’s still difficult to buy him as a ” whatever it takes ” killer. Not the case with Washington. His Frost is dead-eyed and stone cold. Unfortunately for Reynolds, Washington dominates every scene they share. Besides his combat skills, Frost is an expert in getting inside an agent’s head and Weston just can’t block him out. We find out a bit of background on Frost, but he remains a mystery. His most powerful scene is one in which he is subjected to ” enhanced interrogation techniques “. A sobering piece amongst all the destruction. The actors back at headquarters have little to do but snipe at each other. Gleeson is condescending, Farmiga is tough ( a cliched b**** on wheels ), and Shepard is the grizzled boss that just wants the mess cleaned up! There’s plenty of mayhem for the video game crowds ( wrecked cars, smashed metal homes, and tons of spent cartridges litter the over-saturated filmed streets ), but very little about the people stays with you. When it comes to spies, these shooters and backstabbers have nothing on Bourne, Bond, Ethan Hunt, or even George Smiley.

Overall Rating: Three Out of Five Stars