Later #63 a movie: 'Safe House'

Saw the movie ‘Safe House,’ a spy thriller based around Denzel Washington's character, Tobin Frost, a rogue CIA agent with a file to sell to the highest bidder and people on all sides trying to get to that file and to him. Most of the action takes place in Cape Town, South Africa. Former Agent Frost seems to be cornered after a chase sequence, when he spots the US Consulate and decides to turn himself in, with the audience not being quite sure whether this was intended or an accident of his situation. A bit of good ol’ US illegal torture was programmed for the treacherous Frost, so instead of bringing him back to the US, he was taken to the local CIA ‘safe house.’ There, we are introduced to Ryan Reynolds as Agent Weston, who is the safe house housekeeper and while ambitious, has never seen any real spy action, until now that is. The ‘baddies’ find the not-so-safe house, and from there we follow Frost, Weston and Co around South Africa.

Frankly, there is little that is original or surprising in this story. The US agents are cliché. There are armies of expendable bad guys fighting and shooting in the townships, streets and freeways, to ensure that our gun toting, car-chasing stars have something to aim at and run from. The film makers waste the opportunity of doing anything remotely meaningful with the relationship between Agent Weston and his (cliché) horny French girlfriend played by Nora Arnezeder. I guess there wasn’t time, although plenty would have been available if the car chases and running scenes were either shorter or less numerous.

A somewhat interesting rapport develops between former Agent Frost and Agent Weston that makes you wonder who the good and bad guys really are, but otherwise the movie fails to engage. If you like action, wait for the DVD. If you don’t, then pass. 3/10.

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