With his charisma doing most of the work to envelop his character with the requisite alluring mystery, Washington nicely combines a world-weariness with a persistent alertness to the moment, the latter a constant requisite if Tobin is to survive yet another day. In the nasty world of ever-present assassins and the CIA, which complicates things further by sending two Langley operatives ( Vera Farmiga and Brenda Gleeson) into the field after them, the naïve student has to catch up to reality but fast, which he does as the besieged men carefully make their way from the city to a township and, finally, to an isolated ranch for a final showdown. Hovering distantly in the background is the contrast between Tobin’s worldly cynicism and Matt’s hitherto untested optimistic view of how life should operate. STORY: Scarlett Johansson, Denzel Washington Win Germany’s Golden Camera Be they terrorists, mercenaries or CIA ops, his pursuers force Tobin and Matt out of their safe house and keep gunning for them at regular intervals thereafter, which means very few minutes of Safe House ever go by with an exchange of fire or muscle power. Given his notoriety, Tobin’s got some tough and well-armed guys after him wherever he goes, perhaps especially now because he’s got a tiny file containing explosive info that he’s embedded under his skin. When Tobin abruptly decides to turn himself in, he is remanded to the care of agency novice Matt Weston (Reynolds), who’s been languishing in Cape Town, South Africa, waiting for a plum assignment he’s got one now. Having been off the grid, as they say, for a decade, veteran agent Tobin Frost (Washington) is considered “one of the most notorious traitors we’ve got,” according to CIA big shot Harlan Whitford ( Sam Shepard) he “turned” years ago and has been selling damaging information ever since. VIDEO: Denzel Washington Goes Rogue in ‘Safe House’ Trailer Especially when the action is outdoors and on the street, the slightly stylized coverage is often managed from above, where a permanent camera might plausibly be positioned, a strategy that contributes a fresh layer of visual pungency. Swedish director Daniel Espinosa ( Snabba Cash) is not on that level–not yet, anyway–although the style he employs to follows the far-ranging action-something resembling a surveillance camera surreptitiously eavesdropping on movements and incidents not meant to be witnessed-is entirely apt for the subject at hand. Ryan Reynolds Says He Misses Robin Williams: "Pretty Sure Everyone Does"
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