This is an excellent spellbinding spy thriller superbly portrayed by Patrick Stewart. This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. While it was a Showtime film it is not low budget or low quality. The entire production, cast, script & film quality are all first Class. Beware, there is another film by the same name, without Patrick Stewart and a different script entirely. So check carefully to ensure you have the right film.The unique story of a retired DIA agent (defense intelligence Agency) suffering from early advanced Alzheimers with extreme paranoia of being the target of gov't assassination attempts to silence him from exposing the dirty laundry of a Presidential candidate. Stewart goes through extreme measures to protect himself & remain physically fit & ready as he realizes his mind is rapidly deteriorating. Stewart is the epitome of class, fitness & superb academy award level acting in this action thriller. Stewart underwent extensive preparation of exercise, bodybuilding, martial arts, self defense, dancing, guitar, gourmet cooking & strenuous training prior to this role to be in peak physical condition & skill for this talented character role.The audience is led to believe his daughters perception that his extreme paranoid behavior is due to his Alzheimers. She is unaware of his DIA career & believes her father's assertions as an intelligence agent are fantasies as are his fears of assassination.He becomes the last surviving member of his former DIA team who knows the truth about their former boss who could blow the whistle on his political aspirations. His only protection is a deadmans switch on the internet which he has to deactivate every day to prevent automatic dissemination of documents & photos proving the Presidential Candidate was involved in high level assassinations.His daughter unwittingly hires a "too good to be true" compelling freelance contract agent as her fathers caretaker who quickly wins her fathers trust & that of the audience. That trust soon turns to unexpected consequences.Stewart is at the top of his game on this film. Excellent Acting & performances by the entire cast. Fantastic script, action & top of the line spyware.I cannot overstate how great this film is from start to finish. Unless you are some immature neophyte or political hard nose you will definitely enjoy this movie.This is a quality film which nearly everyone should enjoy. I highly recommend it.

The concept of making the audience wonder whether the hero is really being threatened or is the victim of delusions, has been used several times recently. I enjoyed this take on it better than most and I love Patrick Stewart in any role! I hadn't expected it to be so heart-wrenching at times, but it was. One scene, in which Mace (P.S.)is doing a cognitive test for his doctor, was particularly effective. As a result, this was not only a suspense movie it had some very realistic portrayals of the slow but steady mental decline of Alzheimer's victims--and how tragic that is, as they realize it is happening. I think I appreciated that accurate and informational aspect as much as I did the mystery of Mace's activities with his complex computer set-up. I watched this while walking on my treadmill and usually do a movie in two sessions. This one kept me going through the entire time.

Every time I see Patrick Stewart I become more and more impressed by this actor's versatility. From Shakespeare to SciFi, from drama to suspense to historical epic, Stewart does it all, and does it very well. With "Safe House," Stewart demonstrates a wide range of talent, including - what I enjoyed most - a flair for subtle comedy, unexpected in a movie billed as a suspense flick.I have to admit first off that if you're looking for a hair-raising, edge of your seat thriller, look elsewhere. I spent a lot more of my time sitting back chuckling than I did on the edge of my seat - and I mean that positively. This was a very funny movie in many ways, laced with some tense moments. Stewart plays Mace Sowell, a man suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease, who tries to convince his daughter Michelle (played by Joy Kilpatrick) that the life she thought he had lived had been a lie, and that he had really been a military intelligence officer whose life was now in danger because of the things he knew. She, of course, assumes that her father is delusional because of the Alzheimer's, and hires a caregiver (Andi Travers, played by Kimberley Williams in a pretty decent performance) who Sowell distrusts from the start, but finally begins to warm up to. There's the outline of a pretty suspenseful movie there, except for one basic fault: I had this thing figured out within about 10-15 minutes of the opening! It's very predictable. However, I must confess that the decision to have Sowell suffering from Alzheimer's throws a wild card into this, and there were a few times when, with the twists and turns that happen, and with Sowell's obvious confusion, I began to doubt what I had assumed would happen. So it definitely managed to hold my interest. Stewart, in addition to some wonderfully funny scenes, also showed his dramatic flair as he portrays Sowell struggling with his emotions as he confronts the disease beginning to ravage his mind.Most of the other performances in the movie are solid but unspectacular. I frankly found the character of Stuart (played by Craig Shoemaker) to be nothing less than irritating. Why he had to play almost every scene at least partly impersonating a famous actor was beyond me, and I really just wanted him to go away after a while. Hector Elizondo as Dr. Simon, Sowell's psychiatrist, was underused and offered little.Basically, though, this is a pretty good movie. I'd rate it as a 7/10.

The end is fairly good, but the movie's setup drags on and on forever. By the time anything really happened, I didn't care anymore. If I hadn't rented it I probably would have turned it off before the end. Bottom line: Boring.