"Safe House" comes on like a souped-up
"Bourne" directed by Tony Scott – all frantic pace, sinister synths
and choppy-choppy editing. Sure this has been done before - but what's makes
this espionage movie so different is the sheer effort the cast, crew and
writers put into depicting the 'thrill' in 'thriller'. You can literally feel
them working their well-paid butts off to please you in every possible way. Add
to this formidable stew of film-making excellence - a cleverly chosen cast of
top class actors like Denzel Washington, Sam Sheppard, Robert Patrick, Vera
Farmiga, Fares Fares, Ruben Blades and the superb Irish duo of Brendan Gleeson
and Liam Cunningham - and you can almost forgive Ryan Reynolds trying to break
free from rom-coms and getting all John McClane sweaty teeshirt on us...
As you can imagine the action comes at you fast and furious.
The fight sequences were choreographed for months in advance (using the actors
themselves) and escalate in their ingenuity and hands-on nature - while the car
chases are pulse-pounding too. But its the great cast who give it a beating
heart. With the exception of say Liam Neeson or Tommy Lee Jones - I couldn't
see any other leading man bring so much to a cop/agent as Denzel Washington
does. He is typically brilliant here. He plays Tobin Frost – the CIA’s
more-wanted whistleblower (off the grid for a decade) - who suddenly waltzes
into the American Embassy in South Africa's capital city of Cape Town. Years of
interrogation techniques under his belt and a file in his leg that will fry
many dodgy types on different continents - Tobin smiles, grimaces and generally
messes with everyone’s head. Digging in to find more nuances – Denzel is
magnificent at this - and it goes a long way to keeping you watching as the
begrudging relationship develops between his character (the old timer on the
run) and Reynolds character Matt Weston (the rookie forcing into protecting him
from all comers). And on it goes to a final show-and-tell gun battle in another
compromised 'safe house' where the young buck Matt has been seriously
underestimated by everyone – including the good guy/bad guy Tobin Frost
(dialogue above)…
The BLU RAY picture isn't great it has to be said because
Director Daniel Espinosa is going for gritty realism and not clean cut – but it
does show off the superb and extensive use of Cape Town as a city and the South
African countryside that surrounds it which has a certain beautiful light - and
look. Placing it in this unusual location gives the street action (and shanty
town sequences) a fresh feel too. And don't watch the extras 'before' the movie
– they give away far too much plot.
A bit of a cracker frankly...
PS: Look out too for the unpronounceable NORA ARNEZEDER who
plays the 23-year old French girlfriend Ana - I'm certain she's been
genetically engineered by the CIA to be one of the most gorgeous women on Earth
- and will no doubt turn out to be a 'sleeper' agent in "Safe House 2 –
The Sequel - Even Safer Than The Last House".
You heard it here first folks...
You heard it here first folks...
