Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington give solid performances in ultimately disappointing SAFE HOUSE
SAFE HOUSE (Daniel Espinosa, 2012)
Opens Friday, February 10
www.nooneissafe.com
Swedish director Daniel Espinosa’s English-language debut roars out of the gate with the promise of the best of the Matt Damon / Bourne movies but ends up feeling like an average, dare we say “safe,” episode of 24. Ryan Reynolds stars as Matt Weston, a CIA newbie looking for a better gig than guarding a never-used safe house in Cape Town, complaining to his superior, David Barlow (Brendan Gleason), that he wants a chance to show his stuff. He quickly gets that opportunity when former agency star gone rogue Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) is brought to the house, having turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy after being hunted by gun-toting villains who are tracking down a microchip with damaging information on it. Frost’s been under the radar making secret, illegal deals for almost a decade, but Weston can’t help but still be in awe of the legendary figure, who is as cool as they come. Soon the two are on the run through the streets of Cape Town and Johannesburg, a sort-of riff on the classic 1958 drama The Defiant Ones but without any social relevance. The film then steadily devolves into an excuse for one inexplicable action scene after another until the last half hour, when Espinosa (Easy Money) slows things down a bit and David Guggenheim’s script — considered one of the hottest in Hollywood a few years ago — takes the easy way out every step of the way, from the revelation of the mole to what becomes of Frost and Weston (as well as CIA operatives played by Sam Shepard and Vera Farmiga). Reynolds (Green Lantern, The Proposal) more than holds his own going toe-to-toe with Washington, who gives a mesmerizing performance until the script lets him, and the audience, down at the end. It’s too bad that the story went haywire, because there was a lot to like through the first half of this well-made but ultimately disappointing espionage thriller.