skitz1015
Joined Feb 2005
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Reviews6
skitz1015's rating
There have been mixed reviews but I think this is worth the movie ticket. Unfortunate for White House Down, but Olympus Has Fallen was just released three months ago so it's hard not to compare.
Different villains and motives but similar everything else. Yeah, actually pretty much everything else. A couple things that I liked: WHD tries to send an over message regarding how utterly reeeeediculous the media can be. There was brief mention of some race issues and biases, in particular how there are people and groups out that would like to harm others solely based on their ethnicity. *gasp* Whaaaat? You mean racism still exists? It was a shallow attempt at really touching a serious issue, but nonetheless, an attempt.
Another thing working in WHD's favor: it's funny. Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum are just funny; they can't help it. Downside to the comedy: it can be difficult to take the movie seriously. It's more explosions and one-liners than deep character development and plot (OHF would be more of the latter). But generally, couldn't have cast a better pair to pull off what was desired for these roles. One other downside, it was a hair too long. I could have been done at plot twist number 2 or 3 or . well, you get the point.
Different villains and motives but similar everything else. Yeah, actually pretty much everything else. A couple things that I liked: WHD tries to send an over message regarding how utterly reeeeediculous the media can be. There was brief mention of some race issues and biases, in particular how there are people and groups out that would like to harm others solely based on their ethnicity. *gasp* Whaaaat? You mean racism still exists? It was a shallow attempt at really touching a serious issue, but nonetheless, an attempt.
Another thing working in WHD's favor: it's funny. Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum are just funny; they can't help it. Downside to the comedy: it can be difficult to take the movie seriously. It's more explosions and one-liners than deep character development and plot (OHF would be more of the latter). But generally, couldn't have cast a better pair to pull off what was desired for these roles. One other downside, it was a hair too long. I could have been done at plot twist number 2 or 3 or . well, you get the point.
Helpful•815
My first inclination watching this movie was to tell people to wait for it to come out on DVD or play on TV. But I did go ahead and write a full review so here goes...
If I would have left the theater in the first hour and then written this review, I would tell you to skip the movie. Seriously. For the first 50 minutes, take a cat nap. I literally did for about 5 minutes and didn't miss a thing. Save a couple of mild, yet still uncomfortable, torture....excuse me, "information extraction" scenes, the first almost hour of this movie is a snooze. We don't even get any character development until after that first hour.
The rest of the movie though reveals why that painfully slow build-up was beneficial. The movie does pick up but keep in mind that this movie will not be a flashy, violent thunderstorm. It's supposed allure is that it's a slow and steady, long (2 hrs 37 mins long to be exact) rain storm. The last hour was unexpectedly gripping (compared to the beginning at least) and you're left feeling satisfied, now understanding the pace and heaviness. If you believe the Osama Bin Laden (referred to as UBL for Usama Bin Laden) search and destroy story in the first place, it's a fascinating look at what really went into finding him. If you're skeptical, which I think is healthy, it's still an interesting look at what tactics our great U S of A uses and how terrorist cells often work. There are quite a few unrealistic elements about CIA operations thrown in though. Sometimes I found myself wondering, "Really? THAT'S what they want us to believe the CIA would do?"
A little caveat for you, war itself is not pretty. But this isn't the bloody, front lines side of war (though there's quite a bit of blood in the final scenes). This is the CIA side of war, the counter- terrorism side (whom some may argue is ALSO terrorism, but I won't get into all of that). It's uncomfortable to watch a human being purposefully hurt or slowly physically destroyed, no matter for what reason, even though the scenes shown (all within the first hour) were VERY mild, IMO, compared to what's probably really going on in those concrete rooms. I used utilitarianism to justify it in my mind. But if the visual of the aforementioned will bother you, do not go see this movie. If you can get through that first hour, there's no more after that. The rest of the movie is pretty much the wild goose chase to find UBL. And again, I mean "wild" only figuratively because this is a subdued movie.
So in conclusion, be PATIENT with this one, do not expect a purely factual documentary, take on the heaviness and seriousness of the actors (particularly the lead actress Jessica Chastain, who did a great job conveying the weight of this world on her shoulders), and you will leave satisfied.
If I would have left the theater in the first hour and then written this review, I would tell you to skip the movie. Seriously. For the first 50 minutes, take a cat nap. I literally did for about 5 minutes and didn't miss a thing. Save a couple of mild, yet still uncomfortable, torture....excuse me, "information extraction" scenes, the first almost hour of this movie is a snooze. We don't even get any character development until after that first hour.
The rest of the movie though reveals why that painfully slow build-up was beneficial. The movie does pick up but keep in mind that this movie will not be a flashy, violent thunderstorm. It's supposed allure is that it's a slow and steady, long (2 hrs 37 mins long to be exact) rain storm. The last hour was unexpectedly gripping (compared to the beginning at least) and you're left feeling satisfied, now understanding the pace and heaviness. If you believe the Osama Bin Laden (referred to as UBL for Usama Bin Laden) search and destroy story in the first place, it's a fascinating look at what really went into finding him. If you're skeptical, which I think is healthy, it's still an interesting look at what tactics our great U S of A uses and how terrorist cells often work. There are quite a few unrealistic elements about CIA operations thrown in though. Sometimes I found myself wondering, "Really? THAT'S what they want us to believe the CIA would do?"
A little caveat for you, war itself is not pretty. But this isn't the bloody, front lines side of war (though there's quite a bit of blood in the final scenes). This is the CIA side of war, the counter- terrorism side (whom some may argue is ALSO terrorism, but I won't get into all of that). It's uncomfortable to watch a human being purposefully hurt or slowly physically destroyed, no matter for what reason, even though the scenes shown (all within the first hour) were VERY mild, IMO, compared to what's probably really going on in those concrete rooms. I used utilitarianism to justify it in my mind. But if the visual of the aforementioned will bother you, do not go see this movie. If you can get through that first hour, there's no more after that. The rest of the movie is pretty much the wild goose chase to find UBL. And again, I mean "wild" only figuratively because this is a subdued movie.
So in conclusion, be PATIENT with this one, do not expect a purely factual documentary, take on the heaviness and seriousness of the actors (particularly the lead actress Jessica Chastain, who did a great job conveying the weight of this world on her shoulders), and you will leave satisfied.
Helpful•1012
A sign of a good CIA-operative-gone-rogue movie is that you never know who to trust until the end. And said movie is still good even if it doesn't stray far from the usual formula. Safe House sticks to the tried and true plot structure of this sort of movie, complete with that "wait, who's the bad guy?" twist and a super secret file that someone is killing to get their hands on, but it's engaging and both Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are perfect in their roles. Very believable and you'll feel loyalty for them both. Oh and there's a romantic side story but it's almost, if not completely, irrelevant. I believe it's just supposed to give Reynolds' character some depth. You know, so we care about him.
Anyway, gun fights aplenty and fantastic car chase (and crash) scenes will distract the audience from a few nonsensical plot holes. And just when I thought there was a lull in the excitement, about an hour fifteen in, crazed gunmen burst into the scene and startled me out of my lazy blinks and wandering mind right back into the action. The ending was satisfying, despite a couple more plot holes and a corny line or two. Overall, a go-see. Action/suspense seekers won't be disappointed.
Anyway, gun fights aplenty and fantastic car chase (and crash) scenes will distract the audience from a few nonsensical plot holes. And just when I thought there was a lull in the excitement, about an hour fifteen in, crazed gunmen burst into the scene and startled me out of my lazy blinks and wandering mind right back into the action. The ending was satisfying, despite a couple more plot holes and a corny line or two. Overall, a go-see. Action/suspense seekers won't be disappointed.
Helpful•1212