GRADE: D+

I can probably guess that many will not dislike Safe House as much as I did. The audience surrounding me at the midnight showing was cheering the film in appreciation and shrieking during some of the bloody battles. About 15 minutes in, I could already tell Safe House was going to be a run-of-the mill early 2012 release no one would remember — except maybe for its inadequacy. Even the greatness of Denzel could not keep this sinking ship afloat.

Safe House stars Ryan Reynolds as Matt Weston, a newbie in the C.I.A., who is charged with the uneventful duty of watching a secure location used to hold and interrogate ’enemies of the state’ in South Africa. Things quickly get interesting as one of the world’s most wanted traitors, Tobin Frost (Washington), is brought to the secure location after he purposefully turns himself in. The reason behind his intended capture is soon known as the fortified spot is overrun by men with guns, seeking to take Frost and the intel he possesses.

This was the typical film that starts with two men who are enemies and slowly works them into partners with a common foe — the men who so ruthlessly seek the damning intel. Safe House hit so many clichés, it was cliché. Denzel played the former elite American operative jaded by the political system, a man only guilty of ‘justified’ espionage. It featured the girlfriend who didn’t know Reynolds was a secret agent, and his heroic attempt to save her. It drew upon the typical deceit tactics to make the viewer think a guy is good, welp, flip the script he’s bad. Safe House lacked strength story-wise, so like any action flick with this flaw, it filled the running time with mindless car chases, gun battles, and hand to hand combat sequences.

While the writing wasn’t absolutely terrible — it was just formulaic, bland and over-done — the direction by Daniel Espinosa really was. He did his best Tony Scott impression, a la Man on Fire, by using similar techniques like quick zooms, grainy pictures showcasing a foreign second world country, and headlining Denzel as the unstoppable force. The abundance of action in Safe House was not only used as a bridge for the weak story, it was messy, often indecipherable, and despite all the loud noises and shaky images, boring. Not only that, but I hate when directors choose to use a handheld technique for static shots such as character dialogue. With a budget in the millions, come on Espinosa, invest in a tripod or a rig with some stabilization. The shaky movement during all the dialogue was distracting, and annoying.

Another thing that really made me hate the action in this film was the group of militants chasing the duo always showing up at the right time, and always knowing where to be. Granted they did have some inside information, but more times than I can count they just popped up at the ‘perfect’ moment, making me scratch my head in disbelief of how they got there. One example was Reynolds escaping in an early 2000′s BMW 7 Series and being chased by an older Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Sprinter van. Reynolds left in full flight, far ahead of his chasers as they had to run to their cars to catch up — he turned left, and right, and sped off into the bustling city. Seconds later the pursuers were traveling parallel on a neighboring street, neck and neck with Reynolds. Seconds after that, they were right on his tail with their slower and less maneuverable vehicles.

It could make sense if Reynolds slowed down, took a wrong turn, got in an accident, or had some sort of tracker on his car — but that was not the case in Safe House. These men were able to follow without any logic given to how they are catching up, or better yet, discovering the exact location when the pair was constantly on the move. Later in the film Reynolds got tracked down via a GPS tracker with mission details, but like I said, later.

Overall, Safe House showcased two good performances from Denzel and Reynolds, but their involvement in this project could not save the film from being forgotten amongst the rest of the usual fodder released early in the year. The film lacked logic, a solid story to build around, and stimulating action. I was so bored after an hour of Safe House I could not wait for the expected and disappointing twists to stop. I can’t say others will look at Safe House the same way I did, with an analytical eye, but I can’t imagine many seeing it as more than a pointless action flick.

What Should You Do? If you’re into pointless action flicks, by all means, have at it. Otherwise, skip Safe House.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @matthewdeery

In light of all the movies I have been watching recently, I thought it would be a grand idea to discuss some of the better movies I have seen with our new segment Netflix This. Some are soon to be released or just out on DVD, others have been around for awhile. Without further delay, I’ll dive right in. It causes me shame to admit I just saw this movie for the first time. The film The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is based off the same-titled book of historical fiction written by John Boyne. It is a WWII period piece (which always stimulates my interest) concerning a Nazi officer who moves his family to the countryside so he can oversee the extermination of the Jews in a concentration camp.

His young son Bruno adventures to the camp against his parents consent and discovers another young boy in “pajamas” sitting behind a barbed wire fence named Shmuel. As Bruno sneaks away from home to see his new captive Jewish friend each day, the two develop a friendship with the bliss of child ignorance preventing the boys from knowing they are supposed to be sworn enemies.

Vera Farminga steals the show as the distraught German mother trying to cope with a world that features Hitler’s Final Solution and her husband carrying out the massacre. She distances herself from the reality, her children, and most of all, her mass murdering husband. This is definitely the best role I have ever seen from her, and she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in this years upcoming Academy Awards (Up in the Air).

Another thing I noticed while watching the morose parts of this movie was somber music that reminded me of the score just after Mother Tree is destroyed in Avatar. Looking on IMDB I noticed the composer for both movies is the great James Horner, which then made a lot of sense.

This movie captivated my attention early and kept it all the way until the wonderful climax at the film’s conclusion. It has great performances from all the whole cast, especially the two young actors playing the male leads Bruno and Shmuel. It is always hard to find children who can act, and both pull off impressive performances. This is a movie none should miss. If you like drama, great acting, WWII period pieces, this is a must see now.

What Do You Think? Discuss.