This movie is very much predictable from the title to the poster, but the mix it had of emotions,crime,thriller and action was quite unique and entertaining. Ryan Played the role to perfection. Washington just played that same quite guy who can do some crazy action in every movie.

Denzel Washington plays a rogue CIA agent hotly pursued by enemy agents who hands himself into the US. embassy in Cape Town as a way of escape from them. He is then taken to a "safe house" where he is to be interrogated but things go awry when the house is attacked by other agents wanting him. A young inexperienced CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) must then try to take control and get the rogue agent to another safe house.This is the kind of film in which the audience doesn't know the good guys from the bad, including the CIA agents. There are double crosses and tons of explosive action, with plenty of hand held camera fast edit action scenes from director Daniel Espinosa (there's a certain edgy power here, though too much of it can get on my nerves after a while). There is also a harrowing waterboarding scene.Washington's character, while considered a traitor to the U.S., is also regarded as a legend within intel circles, having been successfully on the run and eluding all attempts to capture him for a decade as he spills out secrets on various intelligence agencies for the money. Washington plays him as a cool professional, virtually unruffled by all around him, even during an interrogation in which illegal methods are employed against him.In a film in which so many characters are scummy or potentially scummy, I found myself rooting for Washington. Rogue agent or not, he is one cool customer, and I had to admire his style. Of course, Washington is a powerful screen presence. Any time he's on screen it's all but impossible to take your eyes off him.Ryan Reynolds, as the somewhat naive CIA agent dealing with him, is adequate, no more. The rest of the cast, including Sam Shepherd as the head of the CIA, is quite good.

I went to see "Safe House" in the theater for two reasons: 1. I like psychological thrillers (what this movie was advertised at); and 2. I am a fan of Denzel Washington. Sadly, the film fails miserably to succeed on #1 and only gives glimpses of #2.For a basic plot summary, "Safe House" sees known criminal (and former CIA operative) Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) walk into a U.S. embassy for protection after a secret information- selling deal goes bad. While the CIA tries to figure out what Frost is really up to, he is broken out of a secure facility by the men pursuing him, with only rookie CIA operative Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) able to "protect" him.What needs to be cleared up right away, however, is that "Safe House" is NOT the psychological thriller as advertised in the trailer. Every single "psych" moment is shown in the trailer...there is nothing more. Instead, it is a straight-forward action/adventure romp with plenty of bullets, car crashes, and fisticuffs to satisfy the adrenaline junkies.Where this movie fails miserably, though, is that the plot and direction are an absolute mess from beginning to end. Though containing all the trappings of an interesting movie, all the wrong aspects are focused on. What should have (and could have) been a tense psychological thriller instead is one prolonged action scene after another with tiny little "plot moments" thrown in between them so that the whole thing doesn't fall apart.About the only redeeming quality of the movie is Denzel. Though his character is regrettably given very little to do throughout the movie, he still shines as the "tough guy" in a number of scenes (again, though, nothing that isn't shown in the trailer). After taking a break from his "Man on Fire" or "Deju Vu" type characters, it seemed as if, in "Safe House", Denzel was venturing back into that territory once again.Overall, "Safe House" will only be enjoyed by those who like having their senses stimulated at the cinema. It does contain pulse-pounding action, but those looking for any plot or character development will be severely disappointed and should look elsewhere for a Denzel fix.

(55%) A largely routine action movie that on the one hand has a pretty good cast with Washington elevating the movie with his usual brand of rock solid acting, with decent support from the likes of better than average Ryan Reynolds and Brendan Gleeson who's always worth keeping an eye on. But sadly on the other hand this is a messy directed, somewhat lazily written film that hampers the commitment of the cast. The South African setting though is nice and unique and a change of pace to Hollywood (not to mention it's a heck of a lot cheaper to shoot out there) but that aspect isn't enough to stop this from falling between the cracks and being just another action time passer.