Safe House (2012)

“Safe House” is another corrupt CIA thriller that plays with the Hollywood rule that if a hotshot star (Ryan Reynolds) is the young hero and a middle-aged actor (Brendan Gleeson) of Oscar-winning fare plays the mentor/father figure, then the former must pop a lot of James Bond stunt work as the latter plays cool and adds another villain to his resume. Seen “Recruit”? This is it, again. Spoiler? No. “Safe” takes no chances and delivers just as many thrills, its script also Xeroxing “Training Day.” How so? Denzel Washington is back in bad-ass mode as Tobin Frost, a rogue CIA agent who lands under the care of Reynold’s Boy Scout as they lock horns while fleeing across South Africa from countless assassins. Along the way Frost schools Reynolds’ agent about the grim life working for Langley. Washington brings grace Frost barely deserves, while Reynolds gets his grit on as a guy who can take car crashes, beatings, stabbings, and a broken heart all in stride and still outsmart all his bosses. The character is so magical he could send Gleeson’s Mad-Eye Moody’s fake eye rollin’. C-