Have you seen the movie Safe House from 2012 starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds? It’s an action thriller about a former CIA agent that sells government secrets. This is another film that somehow passed me by upon its release. Is it any good though? Let’s find out so without further ado here’s my Safe House blu-ray review.
- Safe House (2012)
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Directed by Daniel Espinosa
- UK Rating 1
- Discs: 2 (Blu-ray & DVD)
- Released By Universal Pictures
- Blu-ray Released: 15 June 2012
Plot
Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) is a former CIA operative that’s gone rogue. However whilst in South Africa Frost finds himself in real trouble and decides to turn himself in to save his life. He is taken to a safe house that is maintained by CIA operative Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). There Tobin Frost is interrogated by the CIA. However the CIA find their safe house has been compromised as another group attacks it with a fire fight ensuing.
Clearly Frost has more than one enemy. With only Matt Weston surviving from the CIA side he escapes taking Frost with him. Who or more importantly what has Weston become involved in?
Style / Direction
The film is directed by Daniel Espinosa whilst the cinematography is handled by Oliver Wood. Espinosa delivers a thoroughly entertaining fast paced action packed action thriller.
Music / Audio Effects
The music score comes from Ramin Djawadi and perfectly suits the action thriller genre.
Acting / Characters
Denzel Washington plays former CIA operative Tobin Frost. He’s a ruthless and skilled operative. Yet despite all of this he rarely leads you to believe there’s more to it than just money. However as the film progresses so does Frost’s character. Washington, put simply is sensational.
Ryan Reynolds takes on the role of a bored CIA agent Matt Weston. He’s been stuck on his own for a year manning the South African CIA safe house. He just wants a bit of action and boy oh boy does he get it. I’ve said before I’m not a massive fan of Ryan Reynolds but on the odd occasion he proves he can deliver given the right role. This is certainly a role he suits more than most.
The supporting cast features two big hitters from the CIA, Brendan Gleeson as David Barlow and Vera Farmiga as Catherine Linklater. These two are in effect both vying to take the lead and bring Frost back to the CIA for further integration.
Brendan Gleeson is excellent but also has you unsure of what he is out to achieve. Vera Farmiga as Catherine Linklater on the other hand is determined to resolve the rogue agent problem and no doubt use it to further her career. I’m a huge fan of Farmiga and she delivers a strong and commanding female CIA Chief who refuses to be undermined by Gleeson’s character despite him attempting to do so on many occasions.
Cast
- Denzel Washington as Tobin Frost
- Ryan Reynolds as Matt Weston
- Vera Farmiga as Catherine Linklater
- Brendan Gleeson as David Barlow
- Sam Shepard as Harlan Whitford
- Rubén Blades as Carlos Villar
- Nora Arnezeder as Ana Moreau
- Robert Patrick as Daniel Kiefer
- Liam Cunningham as Alec Wade
- Joel Kinnaman as Keller
- Fares Fares as Vargas
Conclusion: Safe House (2012) Film Review
Safe House is without doubt worth a look. If you are into action thrillers such Bourne or the like then you will love this one. Washington and Reynolds work very well together. Trust me this one’s highly entertaining.
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Conclusion: Safe House Blu-ray Review
The film was only made in 2012 and therefore doesn’t suffer from any issues in the audio or picture quality department. On the extras side there’s a pretty comprehensive look at all aspects of the film. If you want interviews there here. Want to know how they shot their action sequences they are also included.
All in all I’d say this set of extras delivers everything I need for an action thriller type movie.
Extras
- Making Safe House (11 mins)
- Hand To Hand Action (8 mins)
- Shooting The Safe House (5 mins)
- Building The Rooftop Chase (4 mins)
- Behind The Action (8 mins)
- Inside The CIA (6 mins)
- Safe Harbour: Cape Town (9 mins)
Popcorn Cinema Rating: Safe House (2012)
MOVIE RATING: MUST SEE
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
EXTRAS: VERY GOOD
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
Safe House Blu-ray
If you want to watch this film the Safe House (2012) blu-ray is available now.
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Safe House (2012) Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster…
Clip may not representative of the blu-ray version
That concludes my Safe House blu-ray review. I’m aiming to review at least one Denzel Washington film a week. What’s next? Check back soon…
Summary: Safe House (2012) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: Safe House (2012)
Duration: 115 mins
Director(s): Daniel Espinosa
Actor(s): Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick,
Genre: Action, Thriller
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Picture Rating
- Extras
Summary
Highly entertaining
