Safe House (1999)

disappointed

While I have always enjoyed watching Patrick Stewart's performances, I have never seen him in something where his use of profanity was extreme or where he did a nude scene. This was a top-notch thriller superbly acted and directed that needed none of the above to make it well worth watching. Sadly, it's fate was my garbage can. November 25, 2008

Paranoia or Dementia?

I'm a fan of Patrick Stewart so it may bias my review a little. That aside I think this is a fine spy thriller. You have a retired man, played by Stewart, that says he was an agent for the DIA. The problem is no one believes him not even his daughter or psychiatrist. When he starts to lose his memory from Alzheimer's setting on, things look rather bleak. Who can he trust? The only one that seems to believe is his pool man and maybe his live-in caretaker. He truly believes he is at risk and with his high tech toys he tracks a presidential candidate's activities and the suspicious deaths of former team members. He knows the dirty secrets of this candidate and believes he will kill him as well. One of the better made for TV movies with the right amount of drama, comedy, and thrills. Good quality DVD and excellent replayability. I ordered a copy myself. Fans of Stewart shouldn't miss this one. February 18, 2008

Safe House - Strangely Entertaining

I have watched this movie many times and continue to enjoy it time after time. It is funny and serious and has moments of elegance woven into the plot. I always enjoy Patrick Stewart and Kimberly Williams and they were wonderful together in this drama. Given that all things are relative, the movie probably did not deserve the four stars but it was better than three. There is some violence and a few f-bombs. It would not be particular good for children but most of all, they would not enjoy the movie. February 17, 2008

THE PARANOIDS ARE OUT TO GET ME

DELUSIONAL PARANOIC DRIVES EVERYBODY ELSE NUTTY.

This clerk retired from the CIA and lost his mind.
OR
This spy retired from the CIA and has rich and powerful enemies.

Either way, this guy didn't retire early enuff.
Desperate daughter needs a valium.

This ain't a comedy, but it'll do 'til one comes along.

DRAMA,ACTION,INTRIGUE,THRILLER,POLITICS,
CLASS 4 ENVIRO-HAZARD SUIT.

Patrick Stewart at his best. (NO DOUBLE-ENTENDRE INTENDED).

If you like this movie try
The Temp
12 Monkeys (Special Edition) January 22, 2007

"James Bond gets old"

That's the premise of this little made-for-cable gem, according to the writer / director, and it's a pretty cool exploration of the idea. Patrick Stewart is never less than convincing, either as a retired military intelligence legend obsessed with his own security, or as an old man whose mind is failing long before his body.

Suppose Sean Connery's Bond had aged gracefully, settled down somewhere and tried to live a normal life. Would he still be spending his evenings with lovely ladies and vodka martinis? Or would he be a prisoner of his own past, constantly fearful that all his old enemies would come back to haunt him? And what if his friends and family didn't really believe he'd ever had those grand old adventures?

The beauty of 'Safe House' is that there's no evidence to support the lead character's paranoid claims of government conspiracy, and it's entirely possible that he's imagining the whole thing. Yet the film keeps flirting with the possibility that his fears are real, teasing us with suggestions of menace that never entirely come to fruition. Is there a true danger, or is it all in his mind?

Watching 'Safe House', we don't find out...until the very last scene. I wouldn't dream of letting you know which it is in this review.

January 15, 2007

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