Safe House (2012)

Safe House is a Bourne knockoff where the camera never stops shaking. Daniel Espinosa turns every punch and crash into a blur of elbows, and you spend half the chases working out who just hit whom. The plot is one you’ve seen plenty: a rookie, a legend gone rogue, a file everyone wants, and a traitor upstairs you’ll peg early. Denzel Washington keeps it watchable by sitting still. His Tobin Frost smiles at people as if he’s already read their file, and his mind games from the back seat are the best scenes in the movie. Ryan Reynolds, without a single joke, is a good fit as Matt, a desk guy suddenly in way too deep. Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson mostly worry into phones. A rooftop chase through a crowded township is the one set piece that sticks. It made $208.1 million worldwide on a reported $85M. A 5.3 because Denzel is magnetic and the movie around him is on autopilot. $842 says you tidy the guest room this weekend for visitors who aren’t coming, just in case.

What works: Denzel Washington is magnetic as Frost, and Ryan Reynolds plays it straight and holds his own.

What doesn’t: The shaky camera turns the fights into a blur, and the inside-man plot is easy to call long before the reveal.

Who it’s for: Denzel fans and spy movie regulars who want a brisk chase with a rookie and a legend stuck in the same car.