“Frost is a man on fire, and God help anyone who gets in his way.”
Denzel Washington has to be one of the most versatile leading men in Hollywood. In fact, I can recall no other actor in recent memory who’s so effortlessly able to move from corrupt–as Det. Alonzo Harris in “Training Day,” to inspirational–as Coach Herman Boone in “Remember The Titans”–so effortlessly.
He’s back as Tobin Frost, a morally ambiguous CIA agent who’s dropped off the grid, and may or may not be selling out his country to the highest bidder. Washington excels at playing characters of dubious allegiance, and this role is no different.
Ryan Reynolds plays Matt Weston, a fellow agent, though unlike Frost, spends his time watching over a CIA safe house, and lying to his girlfriend about what he really does. He’s bored with the work, and aspires to a more active role in the organization, but isn’t certain how he’s going to make that happen.
Things proceed as they typically do for Weston, till Frost ends up at his safe house, and events rapidly spin out of his, and everyone else’s ability to control (except for Frost, who seems to approach events with an almost Zen-like calm, until it’s time not to be).
I don’t generally think of Denzel Washington as playing dangerous characters because there’s something very reassuring about him. ”Comforting” isn’t quite the word that I would use to describe this feeling, though you trust him.
Which is probably why he oftentimes plays against type, such as his roles in “Man On Fire” and “Training Day.”
Looking at the “Safe House” trailer, I think we’ll be seeing more of the dangerous Denzel Washington, as opposed to the tough love Denzel Washington from films like ”Remember The Titans” and “Unstoppable.”
It’s also nice to see that Ryan Reynolds is starring in a movie that will more than likely be very successful, since he’s been having a bit of difficulty lately. I think “Safe House” will show that Reynolds is stronger as a supporting player, and highlight that he does not yet have the box-office appeal to carry an action film.
The film is directed by Daniel Espinosa (who happens to be Swedish), but the trailer looks like something done by Tony Scott, a frequent collaborator with Washington.
‘Safe House:’ Entertaining Movie, Weak Premise
A few weeks ago a co-worker and I were discussing the Daniel Espinosa’s “Safe House,” which we both liked, though he raised a point that I probably would have noticed if the film weren’t as entertaining as it ended up being.
That point he made was that the central premise of the film, that Denzel Washington‘s character was on the run with a flash drive that held information that some in the American intelligence community were willing to kill for, made little sense.
Though it bears mentioning that could have been why someone with the magnetism of Washington was in the lead in the first place: You tend to just sit back and enjoy the ride, as opposed to watching the wizard behind the scenes, manipulating his levers and dials.
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