You want to know how I know Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are movie stars? When I go to my local Cinemark on a Sunday morning and instead of being two, of six or seven people in the theater, my wife and I have to fight to make sure we good seats. The theater was packed this morning. Not the easiest thing to do in Utah County on a Sunday morning!

Safe House is the story of Tobin Frost (Washington), a former rogue CIA agent who is captured and brought into a safe house in South Africa which is managed by rookie agent Matt Weston (Reynolds). In the midst of an interrogation of Frost the safe house is compromised by a gang of thugs who will stop at nothing short of capturing Frost, and gaining possession of a file that contains secrets that will severely compromise the CIA, and numerous other government agencies around the world.

When things settle down at the now compromised safe house, Weston finds himself alone with Frost, and under strict orders to get him to another safe house. When those plans are spoiled we are led on an intense thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat for an action packed two hours.

Not unlike most thrillers, there are parts of the storyline that are a little far fetched. Certain genre's of movies rely a tad heavier on your temporary suspension of disbelief. This move is no different. Watching Denzel and Ryan Reynolds run through the streets and villages of South Africa like they are Olympic athletes is just beyond my expectations of their actual athletic skills. But at no point during the movie did my unintentional comedy sensor go off. The director toed the line a couple of times but never quite crossed it.

Vera Farmiga, and Brendan Gleeson are great in their respective roles as CIA supervisors in Langley. While both characters could have used a little more screen time to develop their roles, they both do a great job supporting the stars and moving the story forward.

This movie is exactly what you expect it to be. Another CIA thriller that entertains throughout. Denzel is Denzel, he plays the bad ass better than anyone in Hollywood. Ryan Reynolds surprised me with his role. Stepping out of the rom-com genre, he shows that he has another side to his acting repertoire. But just in case those skills didn't come through those behind the camera made sure that a couple of shirtless scenes were still thrown in there to make my wife happy.

Safe House
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Written by: David Guggenheim
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, and Brendan Gleeson
My Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Would Gene Pick it?: Yes