“You’ve done a fine job, Son. We’ll take it from here. That’s when you know you’re screwed.” – Tobin Frost
Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 Nov 2018)
Brief Synopsis – A young CIA agent working in a safe house in South Africa must find a way to protect a fugitive under his care.
My Take on it – This is a film that I had heard a bit about when it came out but never really had much of a desire to see.
Since I’m trying to watch more films starring Denzel Washington, I decided to give it a try.
Unfortunately, this is an average action thriller that isn’t very original with its premise.
The story meanders along too often and the numerous plot holes make it even harder to find it entertaining.
Washington is joined by Ryan Reynolds in this film and the lack of chemistry between the two of them also hurts the film.
They are adversaries but still need some kind of connection that makes things feel right and this film is largely lacking in that field.
The story is meant to feel like a ripped from the headlines story and it just doesn’t give us enough of a reason to care about what happens along the way.
The fact that this premise has been overused by movies and TV is also a problem since it doesn’t feel as if anything is very unique here.
Bottom Line – Passable action thriller that is hurt by the various plot holes that keep popping up along the way. Reynolds and Washington don’t have good enough chemistry for this to work even if they are adversaries. The story meanders along too much and they try too hard to make this feel like a ripped from the headlines story. The overall premise of the film has been used too often before and the lack of originality also takes so much away from the enjoyment of this film.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In an early draft of the screenplay, Matt Weston’s ability to catch up to Tobin Frost was explained thusly: during his time at the CIA’s academy for new agents in training, “The Farm”, Frost’s file was assigned to Weston as his case study. Weston had memorized Frost’s history and used this data to explain to the CIA leaders where Frost would go once he was on the run. The scenes where Weston tracks down Frost in the South African township were kept for the final draft, but altered so Weston used ad hoc research skills to locate his charge. (From IMDB)
Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)
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