Paranoid conspiracy thrillers have, irritatingly, become a
staple of Hollywood cinema of late. Every month or so, a movie will be released
that focuses on some government agency, usually the CIA, and some poor schmuck
who gets tangled up in a supposedly important and top-secret conspiracy, which,
if unravelled, will expose corruption from within the agency. A craze I can't
help but think that, as much as I love the films, was started by the Bourne
trilogy.
So Safe House is unfortunately a prime example of this. A
young rookie agent – Ryan Reynolds – is the "housekeeper" of a CIA "safe house".
Hardman Denzel Washington, meanwhile, is brought in as a "houseguest", having just handed himself in in order to avoid being killed. Mid-interrogation a group of intimidating men enter the building and proceed to shoot everything
in sight, meaning Reynolds and Washington must go on the run to avoid being
killed. Predictable plot twists ensue.
As you may have guessed from the previous paragraphs, this
is a movie full of clichés. Everything has been done before and better. The
only distinguishing aspect of the movie is its cast, the majority of who try to
make the best of a flimsy plot. Denzel Washington brings his trademark charisma
to the role, relishing the opportunity to be the bad guy, Brendan Gleeson and
Vera Faminga are good in supporting roles and, despite all of his previous sins
(Green Lantern, I'm looking at you), I actually don't mind Ryan Reynolds and
his performance.
But the biggest flaw here is the movie itself, with its dull
plot and characters, mostly consisting of chase scenes and the occasional bit
of weak development. You could argue that it's light entertainment, and there
are certainly worse films to go and see on a Friday night – however, there's an
unpleasantness to the action, which makes the film feel grimy. All in all
though, this is just the same film you saw last month.
★★
