It's been a long time since there's been reason to be excited over a Denzel Washington movie. Ever since his Oscar win for his heelish turn in Training Day, the actor has mostly been content to coast along in exciting, but not terribly challenging thrillers alongside bland co-stars. It's like someone is constantly trying to find a way to recreate the Training Day magic between Washington and Ethan Hawke. Denzel is always the coolest guy in the room, the one with the confidence and steely reserve that everybody else in the movie lacks. His smile indicates he knows something nobody else does, and there's never really any doubt he'll succeed. That same formula is employed yet again in Safe House, but with an abundance of style thanks to Swedish director, Daniel Espinosa, that makes this an intense thrill ride worth checking out even if feels a touch familiar.
Washington's muted co-star this time is Ryan Reynolds, playing bored, untested CIA agent Matt Weston. Matt has pretty much everything he could want: a supremely hot girlfriend who adores him, equally unfair good looks himself, and a cushy position house sitting a safe house in the heart of Cape Town, South Africa. That's not enough for him, though, as he yearns to step out into the field and really earn his stripes.
Frost hardly seems phased, even as he's forced to go on the run with a green as grass agent like Weston. Actually, Frost seems to revel in the experience gap, twisting Weston's mind like a pretzel even as he fights for his life, surviving one ridiculous shoot out or car chase after another. Not even the threat of waterboarding seems to phase Frost, as he's more concerned with the type of towel being used on him. His calm, while fun to watch thanks to Denzel's icy charms, is also a little irritating considering the seriousness of the situation
The heavily lauded script by David Guggenheim lacks sufficient twists and witty banter, and you'll see the big swerve coming from a hundred yards away. How it landed on the Black List, Hollywood's annual selections of the best unproduced screenplays, is beyond me. The pace remains at a breakneck speed throughout, but what you want is more of Frost spinning Weston's head like a dreidle. We just don't get nearly enough of it, and too much of the rather weak mystery of a corrupt official within the CIA. What? A corrupt government agent in a spy thriller? Surely you jest. Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson are wasted in this go nowhere subplot, which pans out exactly as you think it does. Ryan Reynolds is just over matched in every conceivable way opposite Denzel. While it's good to see him not playing the wise cracking pretty boy for once, his character is too weak to shine.
It's amazing how every Denzel Washington film ends up looking like Tony Scott-lite. Daniel Espinosa, who showed he's a talent to watch after his nervy crime pic, Snabba Cash(known here as Easy Money), initially falls into the same category before settling into a serious groove. His style remains kinetic and and a little crazy at times, but he manages to find moments of calm where Scott can't stay on any scene longer than two seconds. The firefights brutal hand-to-hand brawls have a Bourne Identity feel to them, dizzying and visceral.
So it's another solid outing for Denzel, one he can do in his sleep.The film will get your blood pumping, and might even make you laugh once or twice. It just could have been a lot better, with a stronger co-star and better script. Now if only Denzel would leave the safe house his career has been shacked up in and take some risks.
