Safe House 2012

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Safe House plows through its familiar twists with efficient brio and a distinguished supporting cast. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Ultimately, "Safe House" reveals itself to be more interested in bombastic, bloody thrills than provocative, analytical thought. Read more

Soren Anderson, Seattle Times: In the midst of "Safe House's" predictable mayhem and unoriginal plotting, Washington is fun to watch as he outsmarts everyone again and again. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: [Reynolds] still doesn't quite match up with Washington. And while that doesn't sink Safe House, it certainly makes it a little less of a ride than it might have been. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: "Safe House" is essentially and very effectively a rollicking smash-and-crash chase movie that happens to be surprisingly well acted. Read more

John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: "Safe House" is a sturdy enough thriller, but one that consistently defaults to the less interesting of its two lead characters. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Thanks largely to Washington's sly performance and Daniel Espinosa's taut direction, Safe House gets off to a strong start, but the tension slackens halfway through and never recovers. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Too often Washington is made to simply sit and observe -- which is not a fatal mistake because he is such a good actor that even then he's worth watching. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The ethical breaches and double-agent stuff have no sting. So many people are risking and giving their lives, and we barely care. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Even at its most frantic and mechanical, the movie relies on Washington to provide a visual anchor, some sociopathic calm amid the storm. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: It's pretty good. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: "Safe House" is a safe bet if you're in the market for a conspiracy-driven action drama. There are times you wish it wasn't quite so safe, but it does deliver the bang for your bucks. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The movie, as if on an action time clock, punches in the standard set pieces: bloody fights, clattering shoot-outs, an escape through a packed soccer stadium. Some of this stuff is well-done, and some of it has been done a lot better. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Dramatically, the film hangs together well enough but the repetitive nature of the action and lack of stylistic shadings and nuance ultimately prove rather grinding. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: It ... shows how much can be done with a business-as-usual CIA-thriller script when it's bolstered by effective acting and expert direction. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Safe House" has just enough bone density to emit some satisfying cracks and pops whenever the action gets going. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: The film's super-saturated look and quick cutting are mere substitutes for any real sense of intrigue. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Whatever its flaws, the film gives you no chance to get bored. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Excellent performances from both Washington and Reynolds can't can't save Safe House from its boilerplate-thriller bones. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: "Safe House" devolves into unexciting action scenes that feel left over from the "Bourne" flicks and are peopled with cloak-and-dagger stereotypes. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: "Safe House" may strike you as a brilliant movie, provided you've seen fewer than, say, 10 spy thrillers. I've seen more than 10 spy thrillers. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: This is a naive director with so little insight you wonder what comic books he's been reading. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: If Denzel Washington isn't the coolest dude out there, I don't know who is. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's plain most of the well-known players are on hand for purposes of refreshing their bank accounts. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Nothing really new here, but the cast is first-rate. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "Safe House" is an idea for a movie. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: I won't deny that the movie hooked me with sheer brute energy and dragged me along with it most of the way. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: While other stars of his generation stoop to self-parody, Washington stands tall. We cannot tell a lie: Yes, he makes us nervous, but in a good way. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: A movie with a double-crossing intelligence plot that's so generic it's an irritating intrusion in a lively chase through the streets and shantytowns of Cape Town, South Africa. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: The scenes of fighting, shooting, and car-chasing are all quite breathtaking, but you'll be twitching for the fast-forward button during the seemingly endless sequences of plot development and dialogue that connect all the thrilling stuff together. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: While director Espinosa hones in on the ambiguous battle between Weston's idealism and Frost's cynicism, British cinematographer Oliver Wood - who filmed the last two Bourne movies - shoots the hell out of everything. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Washington's Tobin is a pedantic cipher and Reynolds' Weston a dull Dudley Do-Right, and the resulting mix, apart from a few good chases, is bland enough to bottle for Gerber's. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Safe House is a bracing action thriller made all the more watchable because of its two lead performances. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: A viciously energetic South Africa-set actioner that makes up in sweaty atmosphere and brute force what it lacks in surprise. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: [A] scattered but not totally disagreeable CIA conspiracy thriller... Read more

John DeFore, Washington Post: As fun as the movie occasionally is, it can't make its own drama convincing, much less give Reynolds the nudge he needs toward Matt Damon-ville. Read more