"SAFE HOUSE" (2012) Review

"SAFE HOUSE" (2012) Review

One of the first hits of the year 2012 turned out to be a neat little political thriller called "SAFE HOUSE" that was directed by Daniel Espinosa. 

Penned by David Guggenheim, "SAFE HOUSE" is about a young and ambitious C.I.A. agent named Matt Weston, whose present assignment is the "housekeeper" of an Agency safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. When ex-C.I.A. agent-turned-international criminal Tobin Frost turns himself in to a nearby U.S. consulate, Weston is informed by his superiors at Langley that Tobin will be brought to the safe house by an Agency torturer named Daniel Kiefer and his men. Weston watches the torture, until the process is interrupted by mercenaries led by a man named Vargas. He has been after Frost for some information that the latter acquired from an MI-6. Kiefer and the other C.I.A. agents are killed by Vargas and his men. And Weston escapes the safe house with Frost as his captive.

As I had stated earlier, "SAFE HOUSE" is a neat little political thriller filled with exciting chase sequences and nail-biting fight scenes. All of this was filmed in and around Cape Town, Africa; which struck me as a refreshingly original setting for a spy thriller. More importantly, screenwriter Guggenheim allowed all of the action to revolve around the computer file that the Tobin Frost character had acquired. The file contained information on the illegal activities of various intelligence officials throughout the world - including those from the C.I.A. The Vargas character had been recruited to get his hands on the file and kill Frost in the process.  Due to this subplot, Guggenheim managed to introduce the element of a "mole" within the C.I.A. And the mole in question might either be Weston's mentor, David Barlow, or the latter's colleague, Catherine Linklater.

I cannot deny that "SAFE HOUSE" is an entertaining thriller and I could easily see why it did so well at the box office. It possessed a tight plot concerning betrayal. The movie also questioned Weston's determination to maintain his C.I.A. career by allowing Frost to recount his own intelligence career and the circumstances that led him to turn rogue. However . . . it was not a perfect movie. It has its share of flaws that will never allow it to be considered one of the best spy thrillers to come out of Hollywood.

I have complained in past reviews about the new style of cinematography and editing that has prevailed in action-adventures since the BOURNE movies directed by Paul Greengrass. Yep . . . the same type of cinematography, direction and pacing is also prevalent in "SAFE HOUSE", thanks to director Daniel Espinoza, cinematographer Oliver Wood and editor Rick Pearson. Oh well. I suppose one has to endure some unpleasant aspects for the sake of a decent story. Speaking of the story . . . well, how can I say this? I enjoyed it. But I must admit that I found it rather predictable. It did not take me very long to figure out the "mole" who had sent Vargas to kill Frost. And I managed to figure out Weston and Frost's fates at least a half hour before the movie ended.

Thankfully, "SAFE HOUSE" provided plenty of first-rate performances that allowed me to . . . somewhat overlook the movie's flaws. Some of my favorite Denzel Washington roles have always been those that reeked of moral ambiguity. And Tobin Frost proved to be one of his most ambiguous roles to date. I must admit that I was a bit surprised by his character's goal by the film's last twenty minutes. I had assumed that his position as a rogue agent was a means to bring justice to the "mole" within the C.I.A. or in protest of some operation that threatened innocents. I was wrong. His actions had been purely motivated by greed. Yet, I could not help cheering him on, as he managed to evade his pursuers throughout the movie. Ryan Reynolds portrayed a less ambiguous role - namely the inexperienced C.I.A. agent Matt Weston, who has ambitions to rise within the Agency. Reynolds is already in his mid-30s, yet he did a first-rate job in capturing the naivety and ambitions of someone who could be at least a decade younger. This allowed Reynolds convey Weston's gradual maturity with great skill. By the end of the movie, his Weston almost seemed like a completely different from the young man at the beginning of the film.

"SAFE HOUSE" also boasted some solid performances from Sam Shephard, who portrayed the garrulous C.I.A. Director Harlan Whitford; Vera Farmiga as C.I.A. operative Catherine Linklater, who seems determined to believe that Weston is a fellow conspirator of Frost's; Liam Cunningham as the MI-6 agent who provided Frost with the files; Rubén Blades as a former contact of Frost's, whose help he seeks in a local Cape Town township; Robert Patrick, who gave his character - C.I.A. torturer Daniel Kiefer - a sharp air of professionalism; and Nora Arnezeder, as Whitford's French girlfriend, who left confused by his sudden determination to distance himself from her. My favorite supporting performance came from Brendan Gleeson, whose portrayal of Weston's mentor, David Barlow, seemed to rival Washington's when in regard to moral ambiguity. Gleeson injected enough mystery into the character to make a viewer wonder if he is the mole or not. At the same, it is quite apparent that he cares about Weston's career and safety.

"SAFE HOUSE" may not be the best spy thriller to come along in quite a while. I found the plot rather predictable and I was not that impressed by the Greengrass-style photography and editing. But I cannot deny that Daniel Espinoza directed an entertaining thriller, thanks to a solid script written by David Guggenheim and an excellent cast led by Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds.