[5.50/10] Safe House (2012)

Safe House (2012)

Brief review: Swedish director Daniel Espinosa's latest feature film is basically a cat and mouse game, between a former CIA agent accused for betrayal and a young CIA agent, who wants to prove himself and get a promotion. "Safe House" is your typical spy action thriller, that you will certainly enjoy while watching, but forget as soon as it's over. The film ends up being that forgettable, because of its mediocre script, which tries to cover up its complete lack of originality and fresh ideas with an unnecessarily complex narrative and Espinosa's over-direction. On the top of that, it's twenty minutes too long, and it often feels like it's never going to end. Not everything's wrong with "Safe House" though. It's a technically well-made film that boasts some flashy visuals, brisk editing, excitingly frantic action scenes and tense car chases, that will surely give you a big adrenaline rush. However, it's the talky, slow-paced parts that makes it quite difficult to watch, at times even boring. Set in Cape Town, Africa, the movie takes full advantage of its fantastic location, providing the viewer with good amount of variety, and the vivid cinematography makes it even more visually appealing. It's kind of refreshing to see Denzel Washington playing the 'bad guy' in the movie. He should play villains more often, because he's actually good at that. Who knew? Ryan Reynolds acts passionately as usual, and the role suits him well.

Overall summary: Washington and Reynolds hardly disappoint, the hyper-saturated cinematography dazzles the eye, and the action scenes are sharp, edgy and well-executed, but Espinosa's "Safe House" plays it a bit too safe, and has far more weaknesses than strengths.