Safe House (2012)

A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.

Director:

Daniel Espinosa

Writer:

David Guggenheim

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Tobin Frost
Ryan Reynolds	...	Matt Weston
Vera Farmiga	...	Catherine Linklater
Brendan Gleeson	...	David Barlow
Sam Shepard	...	Harlan Whitford
Rubén Blades	...	Carlos Villar
Nora Arnezeder	...	Ana Moreau
Robert Patrick	...	Daniel Kiefer
Liam Cunningham	...	Alec Wade
Joel Kinnaman	...	Keller
Fares Fares	...	Vargas
Jenna Dover	...	CIA Analyst
Stephen Rider	...	CIA Analyst
Daniel Fox	...	CIA Analyst
Tracie Thoms	...	CIA Analyst

Storyline

Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA rookie who is manning a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa, when Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) the CIA's most wanted rogue agent is captured and taken to the safe house. During Frost's interrogation, the safe house is overtaken by mercenaries who want Frost. Weston and Frost escape and must stay out of the gunmen's sight until they can get to another safe house.

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Plot Keywords:

on the run | cia agent | cape town south africa | south africa | two in a shower | 

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Taglines:

No One Is Safe

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence throughout and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denzel Washington and Sam Shepard previously worked in the film The Pelican Brief 1993.

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Goofs

Before Weston arrives at Green Point Stadium the stadium shows no activity. A few seconds later when he arrives there is suddenly a soccer match on and thousands of people around.

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Quotes

Tobin Frost: You think I'm going to let you just take me in?
Matt Weston: I think you need to shut up.

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Connections

Featured in The Untold History of the United States: Chapter 10: Bush & Obama - Age of Terror (2013)

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Soundtracks

No Church in the Wild
Written by Kanye West, Jay-Z (as Shawn Carter), Mike Dean, Charles Njapa, Gary Wright, Phil Manzanera, James Brown, Joseph Maloy Roach, The-Dream (as Terius Nash), Frank Ocean
Performed by Kanye West & Jay-Z featuring Frank Ocean
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Contains a sample of "Don't Tell a Lie About Me and I Won't Tell the Truth About You"
Performed by James Brown
Courtesy of Universal Records
and Contains a sample of "Sunshine Help Me"
Performed by Spooky Tooth
Courtesyof Universal-Island Records Ltd.
and Contains a sample of "K-Scope"
Performed by Phil Manzanera
Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd.
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

This is NOT a safe house.

"I'm not your only enemy tonight." Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington)

In Safe House, Tobin Frost is one cool fugitive, but then he's played by one of Hollywood's coolest actors: Denzel Washington. Guarding him is young CIA agent Matt Weston played by the prominent film actor, Ryan Reynolds. Together they make good acting possible; if only this crime adventure would let them.

Instead, their moments are mere interludes to the cacophony of guns and gore, a smorgasbord of thriller clichés planted in neat rows by director Daniel Espinosa and blossoming glass and guts ad nauseam. As the cool Frost escapes numerous captures and Weston follows him (they've discovered the "safe house" is not so safe), I wish they'd sit and talk for an hour because the older agent has much to tell the younger about love (Matt has a questioning girlfriend) and survival in the den of thieves known as espionage—global that is. Frost has a computer file with the names of bad cops, some of them friends and supervisors. So nobody's safe.

Among the vulnerable are seriously good actors like Sam Shephard, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, and Robert Patrick. The shame is they have parts so formulaic as to obliterate their acting excellence.

Anyway, you get the routine. The only surprise is that this type of film continues to entertain us even when we know the plot points. In part that's because we like to see good/bad guys played by the likes of Denzel work their way through some challenging puzzles and achieve some success just as we try to do in our daily lives. Also we get to see multiple car crashes without being in them, a wish we may have subconsciously when we experience road rage.

I suggest you leave your rational hat at home (most of the plot makes little sense) and wear your thrill-seeking one because this film will fulfill all your demands for excitement without touching a nerve in your left brain.

Details

Country:

South Africa USA Japan

Language:

English Afrikaans

Release Date:

10 February 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Safe House

Filming Locations:

Cape Town Film Studios, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$40,172,720, 12 February 2012

Gross USA:

$126,373,434

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$208,076,205

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Bluegrass Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1