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Film Review: Safe House

Certificate: 15 (strong violence throughout and some language)
Directed By: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick, Liam Cunningham, Joel Kinnaman, Nora Arnezeder
Budget: $85 million
Runtime: 115 minutes
Trailer: Watch

When rogue CIA agent Tobin Frost (Washington) turns himself into the US consulate in Cape Town, South Africa to escape some clandestine assassins, he is taken to a safe house manned by rookie agent Matt Weston (Reynolds) for interrogation. When the safe house is hit by the hoodlums, Weston escapes with Frost and vows to bring him in. However, things become complicated when Weston finds out the reason for Frost's double-dealing, forcing him to question where his own loyalties lie.

This is a 'safe' movie, not too daring yet not too brilliant either. Safe House benefits from its simplistic structure where it saves on the talking in order to maximise the action. This serves to mask many of the film's weaknesses, namely its predictability. The film's major twist for example can be spotted about half way in when it becomes apparent that some sort of CIA malfeasance is at work. As it always is in films of this type. It is fair to say that Bourne really did do a number on how modern day spy flicks are supposed to be. Almost every spy effort of note since, even Bond's reboot, has been influenced and reengineered for the post-Bourne era. Rogue agents on the run from unknown elements, car chases through built up areas, shady government organisations all seem to be prerequisite for the modern spy thriller these days. Even Safe House's cinematographer, Oliver Wood, is the same man who shot the last two Bourne films, and it shows.

Safe House does admittedly try to touch upon some intriguing notions of its own. The ideological battle between Weston's idealism and Tobin's cynicism does have potential. Likewise, Tobin is supposedly a master manipulator but while he's certainly coolheaded and switched on, he never really displays these acclaimed talents. He's a slippery man well versed in the ways of spydom no doubt, but other than his experience his 'preternatural' abilities extend about as far as getting Weston to question whether the CIA is up to no good, as if that's some Earth-shattering revelation. Well no shit Sherlock. As such, Safe House unfortunately never follows through with its promises to work your grey matter.

Indeed, Washington glides through Safe House effortlessly. In fact, maybe too effortlessly as he almost seems to wing the role on charm alone. This is in contrast to hardworking Reynolds, who's evidently acting his little guts out. One might think that this would make for a great buddy up but there's something a bit odd with their interactions. One's clearly into it, the other you can't tell if he gives two shits. If we are to take the premise that Tobin's character is a master of head-fucks, this is certainly one which he succeeds in pulling. Gleeson is adequate, but perhaps most disappointing is how Farmiga has again been shunted to a minor role like in Source Code. The woman is clearly a talented actress and it just seems a waste of her abilities. Although it is nice to see Joel Kinnaman pop in, a man who seems to be getting his face into a lot these days.

In a sense this is slightly disappointing in that the best spy films are invariably quite cerebral. This is not. As Bourne clones go though, Safe House is pretty average; better than Salt, worse than Hanna. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a boring one. Decent watch albeit predictable action fest.

Film Review: The Darkest Hour

Certificate: 12A (sci-fi action violence and some language)
Directed By: Chris Gorak
Cast: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, Max Minghella, Joel Kinnaman
Budget: $30 million
Runtime: 89 minutes
Trailer: Watch

After a couple of young American computer wizkids (Hirsch, Minghella), two female tourists (Thirlby, Taylor) and some weasel Russian businessman (The Killing's Joel Kinnaman) survive the first stage of an invasion by invisible aliens, this unlikely group of twenty-somethings struggle through the streets of Moscow to evade the unseen menace.

To be sure, The Darkest Hour is an interesting premise, an unseen nemesis which turns people to dust as the group are alerted to their presence only when nearby electrical devices spring to life. This idea is enhanced by lingering shots of a depopulated Moscow as car alarms ring in the distance letting us know they're somewhere out there, lurking. Yet while creating this latent paranoia is done to reasonable effect, it is unfortunate that the rest of the film works only to undo this.

From the moment our young heros quickly develop some implausibly astute understanding of how their invisible assailants operate (they can't see through glass, wut?) we're well on our way to silliness. Soon we're introduced to concepts of special ray guns designed to exploit the aliens' weakness, coupled with our heros' sudden epiphanies in the understanding of physics and electrical engineering. Indeed their cretinous quest for survival sits uneasily with their equally precipitously precocious perceptions. One macguffin even required me to check a map of Russia to make sure I had really seen what I thought. Without giving away spoilers, turns out I did taw a putty tat. It would not be an understatement to say that The Darkest Hour perhaps asks a bit too much from its audience.

If leaps of faith regarding plot aren't enough it's not like the characters help either, insipid to the point where you don't really care which of them makes it out alive. Their functions never extend beyond the two American guys used to explain the 'science', the whiney girls to provide the love interest, and the Russian asshole because we have someone for whose death we can root for.

Admittedly there's some impressive shots of an empty Red Square akin to the eerie opening sequences of 28 Days Later, but for all its ambitious ideas this lacks compelling characters and narrative all the while beating its chest with sheer incredulity. And yet, it would be a lie to say I didn't enjoy The Darkest Hour. Yes, it requires a leap of faith, but it is also almost fascinating to watch given its impressive production values which are much bigger and better than the film itself.