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Safe House
2012 115 min United States of America R 18+
★6.3
Action, Thriller
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Trailers
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Description
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.
Budget:
$85M
US Gross:
$126.37M
Worldwide:
$208.08M
Starring
Denzel Washington
Actor
Ryan Reynolds
Actor
Robert Patrick
Actor
Awards
1 win & 7 nominations total
Key opinion
Safe House is generally regarded as a functional, high-octane action thriller that relies heavily on the charisma of its leads to elevate a derivative script. While the film is praised for its kinetic energy and practical stunts, many viewers and critics found the plot predictable and riddled with genre clichés.
| Acting | Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds deliver reliable, charismatic performances that serve as the primary anchor for the film. | |
| Direction | The action sequences are competently executed, featuring effective practical stunts and high-energy chases that satisfy genre expectations. | |
| Screenplay | The screenplay is widely criticized for being overly formulaic, predictable, and burdened by uninspired spy movie tropes. | |
| Cinematography | The film's visual identity—specifically the use of shaky-cam and fast-paced editing—is polarizing; some find it immersive and similar to the Bourne series, while others find it distracting and unintelligible. | |
| Originality | Opinions on the film's originality are divided; some appreciate it as a solid throwback to gritty espionage thrillers, while others view it as a hollow, unoriginal retread of better films. |