Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

TeenzTen An action-packed slog

ActuallyGlimmer The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

luridy Is a Good Film of action, but is generic and don't have original thing.

The Movie Diorama I mean if you are going to bring in Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington, Brendan Gleeson and Vera Farmiga...you're pretty much halfway to making a good film. Yet somehow this still fell short from being great. We follow Washington who plays a dangerous renegade with important information. On the run from mercenaries that raided a safe house, Reynolds attempts to prove himself by bringing him in. Full of espionage, double crossing and a damn convoluted plot in an attempt to make it engaging. But in actual fact, it's just generic. If you've watched this, then you'll probably remember nothing about the story. Seriously, give it a shot. Acting though was spot on. Washington and Reynolds made for an uneasy chemistry and the two work well together. Kind of like a master and his apprentice, except this master is on the opposite side of the law to his apprentice. Farmiga, criminally underrated by the way, was underused. Her character was pretty much pointless which infuriates me every time I watch this. Gleeson was good, but again was underused until the final act. The action scenes were great, the first act is definitely the most lively. A car crash, a raided safe house and a car chase in Cape Town. It was exhilarating and Daniel Espinosa filmed it rather well. Sound mixing was noteworthy, the gun shots were loud and piercing which always gets me pumped when watching an action flick. The locations were varied, from the streets of Cape Town to a football stadium filled with hooligans playing vuvuzelas (do you remember them? Flipping awful things). Just nothing felt fresh. It's a "been there done that" scenario too scared to try something new in case the film doesn't make back its budget. If the plot was engaging, this would've been a great surprise but sadly it's just good. Entirely watchable and well crafted, but nothing outstanding.

zkonedog I went to see "Safe House" in the theater for two reasons: 1. I like psychological thrillers (what this movie was advertised at); and 2. I am a fan of Denzel Washington. Sadly, the film fails miserably to succeed on #1 and only gives glimpses of #2.For a basic plot summary, "Safe House" sees known criminal (and former CIA operative) Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) walk into a U.S. embassy for protection after a secret information- selling deal goes bad. While the CIA tries to figure out what Frost is really up to, he is broken out of a secure facility by the men pursuing him, with only rookie CIA operative Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) able to "protect" him.What needs to be cleared up right away, however, is that "Safe House" is NOT the psychological thriller as advertised in the trailer. Every single "psych" moment is shown in the trailer...there is nothing more. Instead, it is a straight-forward action/adventure romp with plenty of bullets, car crashes, and fisticuffs to satisfy the adrenaline junkies.Where this movie fails miserably, though, is that the plot and direction are an absolute mess from beginning to end. Though containing all the trappings of an interesting movie, all the wrong aspects are focused on. What should have (and could have) been a tense psychological thriller instead is one prolonged action scene after another with tiny little "plot moments" thrown in between them so that the whole thing doesn't fall apart.About the only redeeming quality of the movie is Denzel. Though his character is regrettably given very little to do throughout the movie, he still shines as the "tough guy" in a number of scenes (again, though, nothing that isn't shown in the trailer). After taking a break from his "Man on Fire" or "Deju Vu" type characters, it seemed as if, in "Safe House", Denzel was venturing back into that territory once again.Overall, "Safe House" will only be enjoyed by those who like having their senses stimulated at the cinema. It does contain pulse-pounding action, but those looking for any plot or character development will be severely disappointed and should look elsewhere for a Denzel fix.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Safe House is cut from the same cloth as many a spy movie, but this horse doesn't have quite as much pisss and vinegar as other ones in the stable, notably the Bourne trilogy. It's more of a slow burn, peppered with a few purposeful action sequences and quite a lot of time spent with Denzel Washington's world weary spook Tobin Frost, a veteran operative who has gone severely rogue after escaping the grasp of a nasty CIA interrogator (Robert Patrick). He's soon in the hands of rookie agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) who has been left to guard an agency safe house in Europe, now overrun with shadowy special ops dudes out to snuff Frost. The two of them are forced on the run together, and attempt to smoke out those behind the chaos, who turn out to be a little closer to home than they thought (don't they always, in these types of movies?). Weston is young, naive and idealistic, Frost is bitter, jaded and ready to burn the agency down around him for what his career has made him do. They're a formulaic pair made believable by the two actors, both putting in admirable work. Brendan Gleeson is great as Westons's dodgy handler, Vera Farmiga shows moral conflict in those perfect blue eyes as another paper pusher in Langley, and Sam Shepherd smarms it up as the CIA top dog. It was nice to see Ruben Blades as well, who doesn't work nearly enough, and watch for a sly cameo from Liam Cunningham as an ex MI6 agent. It's not the greatest or the most memorable film, but it does the trick well enough, has a satisfying R rated edge to its violence and benefits from Washington being nice and rough around the edges. There's a downbeat quality to it to, as Weston watches the futility inherent in the life of a spy unfold in Frost's actions, which are leading nowhere but a self inflicted dead for a cause that's bigger than both of them, but ultimately leaves them in the dust. Solid, if just above average stuff.