Review of Safe House (2012) by James Z — 22 Nov 2017

This is a very thin and predictable story, a highly derivative film overall. I like Denzel Washington, but in this he seems to be operating half-asleep most of the time. The movie seems like it's largely a rip-off of Bourne films and lacks much to hold us in the characters or the weak plot line.

The direction and cinematography are fairly good, and Ryan Reynolds is better than I expected in the role that is really the core of the film, such as it is. The notion of dirty spies across various countries is not novel in the least, and I'm surprised that Washington served as one of the "producers" as well as acting in this, though I suspect this is a case of him doing it for the money so he can do the other projects he cares more about.

I've seen DW in many films now, and this ranks as one of his most uninspired and undistinguished performances.