BY: A.J. MILLER
"Safe House," starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds, is a thriller that will hold your attention as well as challenge your intellect.
Reynolds plays young CIA operative Matt Westin, bored to death on his first assignment – guarding a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. He has been there for a year and has had little contact with anyone aside from his girlfriend, played by Nora Arnezeder, and his handler, played by Brendan Gleeson.
Washington plays Tobin Frost, a rogue CIA operative who has been on the run for nine years, selling secrets to the highest bidder. Frost was a master interrogator, specializing in psychological manipulation.
Frost seeks refuge in an American embassy in Cape Town when a secrets trade goes bad. He is then brought into the CIA's custody and brought to the nearest safe house – Westin's. Westin soon regrets his desire for field experience as the most-wanted fugitive is brought into his custody.
Washington delivers his typically excellent performance in action movies, with surprising speed for the 57-year-old who is well into his career. The fight scenes were very believable and well-choreographed. He portrays a hardened operative particularly well.
He also delivered his famously tough-but-tender bad guy, reminiscent of "John Q," where he played a father who took a hospital hostage to secure medical treatment for his son. As Frost, he tries to appeal to (manipulate) Westin (Reynolds) through empathy. In the end, (caution, there may be spoilers) Frost says to Westin "You're a good agent – better than me. Be better than I was."
Reynolds's fight scenes are also very well carried out, and Reynolds wears the scars of his fights quite well. During the (spoiler) car chase, Reynolds does an excellent job of portraying a scared agent looking back to his training. Speaking of the car chase, this movie has the best car chase I have seen in a movie in YEARS.
Reynolds delivers a convincing performance within the character of a young operative who has not yet become disillusioned by years of work as an agent, and questions whether years of service should necessarily harden an agent.
As Frost is interrogated, Westin questions the morality of certain "advanced interrogation techniques," but does not interfere with his superiors. Later, Westin disobeys a direct order for the truth to be known about illegal activities within the CIA and within other intelligence agencies around the world. Westin disregards his career, and focuses on serving the truth and his conscience.
Bottom Line: Denzel delivers. Ryan Reynolds delivers. "Safe House" delivers.