Safe House

Theatrical Release Date: 2012 02 10 (USA)

UPC: 025192124716

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Profanity]

Summary: A rookie CIA operative goes on the run with a rogue former intelligence officer after a South African safe house comes under attack by heavily armed mercenaries. Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA agent just waiting for the perfect opportunity to prove himself. But that's no easy task when you've been cooped up in an empty Cape Town safe house for a whole year. Weston realizes that a prime opportunity is headed his way, however, when he learns that former agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) has been captured after nearly a decade on the run. Frost is about to become Weston's one and only guest at the safe house, and the fledgling agent is determined to handle the situation like a true professional. But by selling U.S. secrets to countries like North Korea, Frost has made more than his fair share of enemies in high places, and shortly after he arrives at the safe house, all hell breaks loose. A small army of gunmen are determined to see Frost dead. Meanwhile, Weston will do everything in his power to protect Frost, regardless of his crimes. Now Weston's only hope for getting out of this alive is to find out who's gunning for them, and seek out someone he can trust before it's too late. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Features: Making Safe House
Hand-to-Hand action
Building the Rooftop Chase
Inside the CIA

Safe House

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 06/05/2012

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DHMA null, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 115 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Safe House
1. Chapter 1 [4:52]
2. Chapter 2 [8:52]
3. Chapter 3 [4:59]
4. Chapter 4 [5:13]
5. Chapter 5 [5:28]
6. Chapter 6 [7:52]
7. Chapter 7 [4:03]
8. Chapter 8 [3:18]
9. Chapter 9 [3:46]
10. Chapter 10 [8:19]
11. Chapter 11 [4:04]
12. Chapter 12 [6:08]
13. Chapter 13 [4:15]
14. Chapter 14 [5:07]
15. Chapter 15 [4:57]
16. Chapter 16 [4:50]
17. Chapter 17 [3:11]
18. Chapter 18 [6:09]
19. Chapter 19 [8:50]
20. Chapter 20 [5:18]

Perry Seibert

You would be forgiven for thinking that the Denzel Washington spy thriller Safe House was directed by Tony Scott, seeing as how the two men have worked together five times already, and the grainy, hyper-edited action sequences recall Man on Fire. In fact, it's directed by Daniel Espinosa, who brings a Scott-like feel to the story of an ambitious, low-level CIA field officer named Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) who ends up guarding Tobin Frost (Washington), a wily former agent wanted by multiple countries for selling state secrets. As the movie opens, Weston is a young agent who has seen no action in over a year while stationed in a South African CIA safe house, and he is chomping at the bit to show his bosses what he can do. Luckily, the chance to do exactly that materializes when Frost, an infamous rogue agent in possession of a computer file that would embarrass governments around the world, is brought to the safe house for questioning. After a decade off of the grid, the onetime agent has turned himself in to an American consulate in order to avoid being killed by those who would like to get their hands on this sensitive information. When mercenaries break into the safe house and start shooting everyone in sight, Weston makes the decision to escape with Frost, since losing this high-profile traitor would kill his career. Also, it's the proper protocol to follow, and Weston is nothing if not a good guy. Weston and Frost are being constantly chased during the first half of the movie, and Espinosa manages to make the whiplash editing style work for the first two major action sequences. There's an extended car chase that gives the audience a really good sense of what Weston is experiencing, even though we can't get a handle on the big picture. We don't have a great sense of where the cars are in relation to each other, but when the action moves inside Weston's vehicle, we understand what our hero is trying to accomplish from moment-to-moment as he's driving and fighting with Frost simultaneously. The breathless opening 45 minutes are a solid example of effective modern action filmmaking, but when the picture slows down for Frost to get a fake passport from an old friend (Ruben Blades) while also sharing a philosophical moment with him, the movie never gets back on its feet. That scene is followed by a chase through a heavily populated South African neighborhood, and here the montage overwhelms any ability to understand exactly what's going on; we just wait for it to end so that we can find out what happened -- and the same holds true for the violent set pieces that close the film. Washington is in his easygoing-rogue mode here, and it's one of his most appealing personas. He's done variations on this character so many times, but he's one of those rare actors who can be menacing and charismatic in equal measure, so it hasn't grown stale. He's able to sell the idea that Frost is a master at psychology, able to manipulate those around him, and as always, Washington savors getting to emphasize the character's dark side. As for Reynolds, he's better when he has something to do than when he has to emote -- he's more believable in an extended fistfight than he is breaking up with his girlfriend, but that might have as much to do with the writing as with him. The supporting cast, including Brendan Gleeson and Vera Farmiga as higher-ups back at CIA headquarters keeping tabs on Weston, do what they can with secondary roles that haven't been fleshed out much beyond their usefulness to the plot. It's easy to lump Safe House in with any number of pedestrian Denzel Washington action films from the last few years, but the fact that it's a notch above them for its first half ends up hurting the movie in the long run because it fails to follow through on that promise -- it settles for being merely OK. Safe House is, sadly for Washington, annoyingly safe. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Denzel Washington  Executive Producer 
Adam Merims  Executive Producer 
Scott Stuber  Producer 
Scott Aversano  Executive Producer 
Trevor Macy  Executive Producer 
Ramin Djawadi  Composer (Music Score) 
Daniel Espinosa  Director 
Marc D. Evans  Executive Producer 
Alexa Faigen  Executive Producer 
David Guggenheim  Screenwriter 
Denzel Washington  Actor 
Ryan Reynolds  Actor 
Vera Farmiga  Actor 
Brendan Gleeson  Actor 
Sam Shepard  Actor 
Rubén Blades  Actor 
Nora Arnezeder  Actor 
Robert Patrick  Actor 
Liam Cunningham  Actor 
Joel Kinnaman  Actor 
Fares Fares  Actor 
Jena Dover  Actor 
Stephen Rider  Actor 
Daniel Fox  Actor 
Tracie Thoms  Actor 
Sara Arrington  Actor 
Kenneth Fok  Actor 
Bryan Van Niekerk  Actor 
Nicole Sherwin  Actor 
Pope Jerrod  Actor 
Allen Irwin  Actor 
Jake McLaughlin  Actor 
Aidan Bennetts  Actor 
Vernon Willemse  Actor 
Traian Milenov  Actor 
Dumani Mtya  Actor 
Thembaletu Tyutu  Actor 
Oliver Bailey  Actor 
Roy Taylor  Actor 
Boris Martinez  Actor 
Stephen Bishop  Actor 
Scott Sparrow  Actor 
Justin Shaw  Actor 
Fana Mokoena  Actor 
Jody J. Abrahams  Actor 
Dirk Stoltz  Actor 
Craig Palm  Actor 
Craig Hawks  Actor 
Tyrone Dadd  Actor 
Tilly Powell  Actor 
Lynita Crofford  Actor 
Tanit Phoenix  Actor 
Abdul Ntotera  Actor 
Ayabonga Mtekeli  Actor 
Nambitha Mpumlwana  Actor 
Lelethu Nongalaza  Actor 
Namhla Tshuka  Actor 
Simphiwe Mabuya  Actor 
Louis Gouws  Actor 
Jerry Mofokeng  Actor 
Robert Hobbs  Actor 
John C. King  Actor 
Bruce Young  Actor 
Aidan Whytock  Actor 
Geon Nel  Actor 

Country: USA