Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga & Brendan Gleeson
Directed By: Daniel Espinosa
Written By: David Guggenheim
Produced By: Scott Stuber
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Rating: R
Running Time: 115 minutes
Website: www.nooneissafe.com
Budget: $85 million
Genre: Action / Crime / Mystery
Release Date: February 10, 2012

In Safe House, Denzel Washington is the most dangerous man in the world, a rogue C.I.A. agent in possession of the agency’s dirtiest secrets. A master of manipulation and psychological warfare who literally re-wrote the book on interrogation methodology, he dropped off the grid nearly a decade ago to trade intel with America’s worst enemies. In the years since, his reputation has grown to mythic status: agents whisper his name in hushed tones, like the intelligence world’s version of the Boogeyman. When Washington finally reappears, he does so in the most confounding manner possible, walking right into the American Embassy in South Africa and announcing himself, sucker-punching the world’s intelligence community and leaving them scrambling to uncover his true motives.

Unfortunately for the folks at Langley, the only location that can securely hold Frost for questioning is a modest Cape Town safe house staffed solely by rookie agent Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern). Reynolds has been languishing in the post, longing for a chance to prove himself field-worthy but conflicted about the constant need for duplicity with his girlfriend (Nora Arnezeder). Reynolds’ boyish enthusiasm at the prospect of action is quickly replaced by a growing unease with the enhanced interrogation methods of commanding officer Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day).

When the location is breached by a team of well-armed soldiers, Reynolds is forced to abandon the safe house and keep Washington secure until his C.I.A. bosses (Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson) can arrive in Johannesburg with proper reinforcements. That challenge is made considerably more difficult by the constant pursuit of the enemy soldiers, as well as by Washington himself, who systematically undermines Reynolds’ confidence at every turn. As the pair play cat and mouse across the cities and slums of South Africa, Reynolds finds himself rising to meet each new obstacle with a level of coldness and brutality that deeply trouble him.

Denzel Washington is no stranger to creating well-loved villainous roles (see his Academy Award-winning turn in Training Day), and really sinks his teeth into the part of renegade agent Tobin Frost. He commands the screen with little more than a superior attitude, his superhuman menace radiating coolly beneath his relaxed demeanor. When he kills, his wrath is so powerful the camera literally shakes in its presence. Frost is so well-established at the front of the film that every subsequent scene he’s in benefits from the audience’s subconscious expectations, and Washington uses that to his full advantage.

The rest of the cast varies in quality. Ryan Reynolds does an admirable job opposite Washington’s unforgettable performance, though it helps that he’s supposed to look completely outmatched for the majority of the film. The two share a good on-screen chemistry, particularly during some of their more reflective character moments, and his maturation over the course of the film rings true. Vera Farmiga and Brandan Gleeson, however, are given little to do in obnoxiously typecast roles, and the less said about Nora Arnezeder’s performance, the better. Rubén Blades has a scene-stealing performance as one of Washington’s few friends, a document forger who philosophizes about family, life and wine.

Swedish director Daniel Espinosa’s Hollywood debut is a smart, well-crafted film that keeps its protagonist and audience off-guard at all times. Espinosa proves highly capable at building characterization during periods of downtime, but also masterful at shattering those moments with rampant, frenzied violence. He is handles large-scale car chases and close-quarters fistfights with equal skill, and his hand-held camerawork lends energy to the film without ever becoming overly-stylized or nauseating.

Most importantly, Espinosa keeps his action grounded in reality. Taking place over the course of just three days, you can actually see the scrapes and bruises accumulating on the story’s heroes and villains as the action intensifies – and that goes doubly for the psychological damage. These C.I.A. agents aren’t like Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt. They’re real people doing really horrible things to other real people, and really screwing themselves up in the process. Truly, no one is safe.

4 Stars (out of 5)