The idea has been done before: How do you decide whom to trust when your life is full of deceit and secrecy? Yet in the new action-thriller “Safe House,” the answer to this question may even come as a surprise to the viewer.
The film, set in beautifully authentic Cape Town, South Africa, has a confusing beginning. The storyline switches between the day’s events of both CIA agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds, “Green Lantern”), who keeps watch over a safe house, or a secure locale where government agents or criminals can be kept in hiding, and U.S. traitor Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington, “Unstoppable”). Frost is being chased throughout Cape Town by a mysterious troupe of men, after him for reasons not immediately understood.
Through numerous (violent) turns of events, Frost ends up in Weston’s custody. The distrust and tension between the two carries on until Weston realizes he and Frost really aren’t that different from each other, even though Frost is a rogue CIA agent wanted by the U.S. government for decades and Weston has been in the agency for only a year.
This realization forges an unforeseen bond between the two men, one that will keep them both motivated towards their cause.
While the film is quite entertaining and realistic, a few scenes were a bit too uncomfortably realistic, including a squirm-inducing waterboarding scene.
A few plot elements could have also been further developed, especially the romantic storyline between Weston and his girlfriend Ana (Nora Arnezeder).
At times, the viewer may feel as if the scene was left hanging, and some things weren’t explained clearly enough.
“Safe House” is the typical action movie, filled with car chases and gun battles. While everyone might not be interested in watching death and destruction, enthusiasts will most likely find this movie above par.
In the end, viewers may be cheering for a completely different side than the one with which they started.
