Review of Safe House (2012) by A_Northerner — 26 Mar 2012

Set in Cape Town, Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are the two CIA operatives, past and present playing cat and mouse with each other in Daniel Espinosa's first major US film. The film was shot in location in Cape Town, and this was obviously something that Espinosa felt keen to impress on the viewer, who is reminded this perhaps once too often with stunning shots of the area.

It almost felt like the location was selected for this purpose first and the plot made to fit second. Equally strong performances from both Washington and Reynolds keep the viewer engrossed throughout the film in between the hit and miss action sequences until the slightly formulaic ending.

Overall a fairly routine spy thriller that ticks all the boxes without setting the world alight.