Despite some flaws in editing and a weak attempt at a recreation of a Bourne movie, "Safe House" surprised me overall. The acting was decent, could have been better, but wasn't terrible. And the story just felt like a Jason Bourne movie rather than an entirely new experience.
I understand that this came out relatively close to the Oscars so I guess I was expecting more than what I got. But still, this movie had such potential. Everything in general could have been outstanding, but after spending time watching Oscar nominated films, the first movie I see after that is usually a bit of a letdown. They should have had a real actor take the place of Ryan Reynolds and the movie would have been golden. He wasn't bad, actually he was better than I expected, but his performance lacked a lot of depth. Though Denzel Washington did not come close to bring his A-game to the table he was still compelling and it was still fun to watch.
The story was interesting. Following a young CIA agent relegated to manning a safe house in a less than desirable location (Cape Town, South Africa) where not very much happens in the world of spies. Everything felt too familiar. We've seen everything before. And add in the shaky camera style and everything gets muddled. Lackluster twists and turns throughout didn't help much either. The action was decent, but could have been a lot better.
I wish the director would have taken the "Bourne-feel" out of the movie. Then maybe we would have gotten a genuine movie experience instead of just feeling like we were watching an old piñata being beat over and over again. All the candy was already out and it was just beating for the sake of needing some action. The few plot holes and editing flaws were insulting to the audience's intelligence.
Despite all the negatives, overall, as an action movie I enjoyed it. As the first movie after the Oscars I was definitely letdown, though I didn't have the highest expectations. If you like action movies definitely give it a shot, but don't expect to have your socks knocked off.
6/10
