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| Universal |
Denzel Washington plays Tobin Frost, a turncoat CIA agent hunkered down in Capetown, South Africa. He’s in the midst of negotiations on a megadeal, trading classified information for serious dollars, when he finds himself the target of a lot of determined bad guys. After some high octane action and lots of close calls, Tobin decides his only option is to take refuge at the US Consulate. CIA brass immediately hustle him off to a safe house for questioning, but the bad guys find him there, and when the dust settles the only man left standing to keep track of Tobin and provide for his security is the fellow who staffs the safe house, a green agent named Matt Weston.
Up until now, Matt thought he had a pretty boring job.
Weston, played by Ryan Reynolds, figures his career depends on how well he handles this unexpected, high profile assignment. Frost, a master of psychological manipulation, wants to slip away from his young keeper and get on with his deal making. But Matt Weston turns out to be much smarter – and less gullible – than Frost imagines; Frost has trouble escaping. (“How did you find me?” he asks Weston, when the young man shows up looking for him in a remote spot. “It wasn’t that hard,” Matt snaps back, powering an old pickup truck through a gunfight.)
The best part of this movie is what goes on between these would be antagonists. Denzel Washington - always terrific - is great here as the clever bad guy who maybe isn’t quite so bad. But Reynolds nearly steals the show from the Oscar winner, showing both the vulnerability and apprehension of a rookie along with the resolve and astute thinking of a top drawer agent. That relationship, and all the edge of your seat (it really is edge of your seat) action are good enough reasons to see this movie; it’s a shame though, that the thriller aspect of the story never comes together. When everything shakes out and you find out who’s been setting Frost up, you don’t really care anymore. Came in number two at the box office, attracting a mixed audience (not just the usual youthful action fans). Still playing in lots of theaters. B-
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1 comment:
It’s a serviceable thriller that should satisfy those late winter cravings from action fans who haven’t seen enough bullets and fists flying onscreen. Nothing special but Reynolds and Washington make it better than it has any right to be. Good review. Check out mine when you can.
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