“Safe House” starts strong but, as soon as the action gives way to some story, it proves to be somewhat stale.
Director Daniel Espinosa's thriller begins with a bang and features a highly commendable first half – so commendable, in fact, that it alone makes the movie worth watching. However, the second half does the flick no favors as it slows everything down to a near snail's pace and exposes the motion picture for what it truly is – a tired, formulaic film shot in a horrifically choppy fashion.
In “Safe House,” which is now playing at movie theaters throughout the Valley, Ryan Reynolds plays Matt Weston, a safe house keeper for the CIA who aspires to be a full-fledged agent. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington plays Tobin Frost, an ex-intelligence officer who, having eluded capture for almost a decade, is one of the best ops men that the CIA has ever known.
Frost has made a life for himself by giving up assets and sold military intel to anyone with cash. Therefore, when he if finally captured, mercenaries come and tear apart Weston's safe house. Barely escaping, the unlikely partners must discover if their attackers have been sent by terrorists or someone on the inside who will kill anyone standing in the way.
The scene inside of the safe house is spectacular, culminating in an even more remarkable chase sequence during which Weston has to deal with not only the bad guys but also an exceptionally hostile Frost. Needless to say, the dichotomy between the two lead characters helps fuel “Safe House” beyond the ordinary actioner. Moreover, Reynolds and Washington give powerful performances.
Therefore, so long as one man has to deal with the other, the tension remains high and the action does not let up for even a moment. However, screenwriter David Guggenheim makes the despicable decision to send the duo in different directions midway through the movie. The action comes to a screeching halt and suddenly “Safe House” is indiscernible from any other thriller.
Granted, the genre clichés were there all along but the beginning distracted us from that reality by causing our hearts to race. After all, who has time to recognize that they have been there and done that when they are trying so far to catch their breath. Later on, though, there is nothing to get in the way of the viewer realizing that Guggenheim's screenplay is silly and stereotypical.
Fortunately, as already acknowledged, the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet start of “Safe House” is worth putting up with the commonplace and even confusing scenes that follow. However, there is one problem that plagues the motion picture from beginning to end – a visual style that is even more uneven that the film's pace, constantly zooming in and out and moving to and fro.
In other words, bring a barf bag because cinematographer Oliver Wood seems to have mistaken “Safe House” for a found footage horror flick.
“Safe House” (R – 115 minutes) is now playing at movie theaters throughout the Valley. Visit FirstLook.com for specific showtimes and locations.
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