Safe House: Movie With Denzel Washington & Ryan Reynolds

Cafe Society
1

We saw Safe House yesterday. Despite not-so-wonderful reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (about 51% favorable currently) the film is actually pretty good for what it is.

Denzel plays an ex-CIA agent who went rogue 9 years earlier and is accused of selling government secrets during the past few years. He is trying to sell a file in Cape Town, South Africa and things go horribly wrong. Chased by a veritable army of bad guys, Denzel has little choice but to escape to the US Embassy and turn himself in.

Ryan Reynolds is the young, bored CIA employee hoping to be transferred to some other big city where there is some action but in the meantime is dutifully keeping his safe house neat and tidy, just in case someone might someday show up.

Well, Ryan gets his wished-for-action when he gets a call and learns he is about to get a very special (notorious) guest and Denzel is being brought to the safe house.

The good news:
Denzel is great (as usual) and Ryan Reynolds is also really good in his role. The supporting cast is also top-notch and nary a character is played badly.

If you like action films, this film will not disappoint - it is pretty much non-stop chases, shooting, fighting, explosions, and car crashes.

The bad news:
Shaky camera - lots and lots of shaky camera to the point you get whiplash while watching much of this film.

The plot is fairly predictable - yeah, there is a twist or two, but if you can stop your head from bobbing up and down while watching this long enough to think, you can probably see those twists coming.

All in all, it was a good action film with Denzel. If you just want to go along for the ride and wear a neck brace, you should like this film.

Of course, you could easily wait for the DVD or premium channel viewing, but because of the non-stop action, it was worth seeing on the big screen.

2

This was a very good movie. The shaky camera did not bother me.

3

I liked it as wel

but with all the closeups on the faces of the actors , I actually thought it would be easer on the eye to it watch it on a TV

4

Airman and I saw it this weekend. It’s a decent popcorn movie, and it was well worth what we paid. (Free coupon and military discount, so it averaged out to $3.75 each. :D) It’s not the most memorable movie, but it didn’t suck, either.

5

Agree, it was fun, and it sure beat sitting in the dealership waiting room while my car was serviced.

But I agree with the others, too, about the camerawork. I’m all for hiring the handicapped, however I must draw the line at cinematographers with Parkinson’s.

6

We enjoyed it, but I would much rather see movies that are a little less predictable than this.

7

What is your takeaway at the end? So Ryan Reynolds goes to his gf in Paris after leaking the story. He seems dressed really nice. Did he SELL the story or just leak it? Does he work for the CIA still? Did he get back w/ his GF?