Safe House
Directed by Daniel Espinosa
Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepherd and Robert Patrick
Release Date: February 10, 2012

Corruption at the top of any organization is a touchy subject for a director to be curious about. When done right, a film depicting corruption, like Polanski’s Chinatown or The Ghost Writer, is an impressive and immersive experience. Navigating through the hypocrisy and crookedness is an act of a polished director at the top of his craft who wants to enlighten audiences about reality, not entertain them. Swedish director Daniel Espinosa is introducing himself to American audiences with a hesitating and not so sharp portrait of corruption. He wants to exploit the supposed corruption occurring in intelligence units across the world, such as CIA agents and M16 agents. Instead of having a firm and confident command on a narrative structure that would get his point across, all of his energy is directed toward articulating sensational action scenes that reek of implausibility. Espinosa has an interesting foundation to build upon thanks to David Guggenheim‘s script. Coherency and logic, though, are neglected, and an overwhelming amount of dynamism is relied on to entertain audiences, dismissing words and dialogue for guns and fists of fury.

Participating in the many brawls Safe House has to offer is Ryan Reynolds. To bestow upon him a tough-guy disposition is to pretty much render his character as being far-fetched. Reynolds is a likeable guy in the appropriate role. But he is insignificant and inarticulate as a pugnacious man ready to interrupt the plans of vigorous individuals who want corruption and fraudulence to prosper.

Matt Weston (Reynolds) is a young CIA agent with the task of guarding a safe house at an undisclosed location in Cape Town, South Africa. Many months have past and the only thing he can truly boast to his girlfriend about are the many hours he spends bouncing a tennis ball against a stone wall. He seems to be an exemplary young man, successfully graduating from Yale and eventually garnering much adoration because of his superb scores on CIA exams. But despite all this he is concealed in a safe house, untested by the toils reality can offer, idly guarding the house and waiting for an opportune moment that will squash the idleness and promote activity.

This moment comes in the form of Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), an ex-CIA agent who has gone wrong in the recent years. He is suspected of selling valuable information about U.S. Intelligence and other countries’ information as well. After having just fled a band of men with the sole intent of killing Frost, he finds his way into the American Embassy where he is soon taken into custody after exposing his identity and is delivered to Weston for safe keeping.

Never once do we question Washington’s disposition. The film paints his character in such a way that when we are in contact with him we realize that he is capable of doing performing any feat. Washington has been steadily building up this kind of character that is similar to the one Mr. Liam Neeson has been building up: the withered and experienced man who always succeeds, no matter what situation, because of his mind and courage. We have seen Washington display instances in Unstoppable, The Book of Eli, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, and Déjà vu. His character in Safe House is pleasantly overflowing with an abundance of knowledge, and we can realize that by just looking into his eyes.

Espinosa initially conveys nothing as he thrusts audiences into an excited state of perpetual activity that lasts the entire film, expecting us to want only action and no explanation. Washington does his best to keep up with the pace, hopping on top of dilapidated houses, engaging in combat while handcuffed and taking out an entire police force at a soccer match. All of this works for only a decent amount of time, thanks to cinematographer Oliver Wood, who has had his fair share of experience capturing frantic action in all three of the Bourne films. Safe House instantly declares itself to be devoid of any coherency, as plausibility pretty much evaporates after the first few action scenes. Scenes involving CIA operatives and officials such as Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Robert Patrick, and Sam Shepherd are merely used to keep us engaged in the so-called narrative that is going on. Nor does the narrative attempt to expand upon the ongoing corruption occurring in different countries’ intelligence units.

As Weston has to keep Frost safe from impending danger, courtesy of terrorists and corrupt officers, Espinosa keeps the scenery fresh by offering glorious images from exotic locales in South Africa. This wannabe Bourne film is lacking any moral or emotional sentiment, hoping to make up for it with its aesthetic splendor and sporadically sufficient action scenes. But give applause to Mr. Washington, who forgoes any limitations he may have as an action star and experiences a dose of youthful verve.

Rating: *** out of *****