The biggest surprise for me was figuring out who the bad guys were in this movie early on; I rarely do. Did it make a difference watching this film? The answer is not at all. There was nothing new story wise about this movie:  untested CIA agent Matt Weston, played by Ryan Reynolds (Buried, The Proposal), the innkeeper of a safe house in South Africa, gets the agency’s most wanted fugitive, Tobin Frost played by Denzel Washington (Man on Fire, The Book of Eli). I probably do not have to mention what happens next; however, just in case you cannot see where this story is going, the safe house was compromised and young Matt had to keep wily Tobin alive until they could reach another safe house. What I liked about this film was Denzel’s and Ryan’s performance. In the past, I have felt Denzel playing “Denzel” playing a character with each having the same mannerisms and delivery of lines. Here as Tobin he was more believable. For Ryan, I was impressed that his usual, slightly arrogant confidence was literally taking a beating. If nothing else, it certainly did not look like he was using a stunt double in the fight scenes. Where this movie let me down was the chaotic fight and chase scenes. Some scenes blazed across the screen in full throttle thrills; but then, other scenes were the same ones you have seen 100 times before in other movies. Also, I am not a fan of the jerky camera moves, jumping in for close ups before switching briefly to wide frame and back into close up mode. If you can shut down your common sense and want to see Ryan get the crap kicked out of him, then this is the movie for you.

2 1/2 stars