While 2011 might have been a bit bumpy for Universal, 2012 is looking much better ("Five Year Engagement," "Snow White And The Huntsmen," "47 Ronin," "This Is 40" and "The Bourne Legacy" are just some of the movies they have on the calendar), and the year is already off to a strong start with Mark Wahlberg's "Contraband" opening very strong a couple of weeks ago. Well, the studio is hoping another mid-budgeted action movie will bring them repeat success next month when "Safe House," starring Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington, hits the big screen.
While any other day this would just be a rote actioner, we're excited to see the studio debut by Swedish helmer Daniel Espinosa, whose stylish drug drama "Snabba Cash" brought him to the attention of Tinseltown. Toss in a hot script by David Guggenheim, a pretty strong supporting cast that includes Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard, Brendon Gleeson and Robert Patrick, and wrap it all up with a damn fine trailer and we're in. The story is simple enough, following a young U.S. intelligence agent (Reynolds) who is forced to go on the run with his prisoner (Washington) when his safe house comes under attack. And Universal has released a batch of new images to reel you in as the movie heads to theaters along with a clip from IGN (there's also one at EW, but you'll have to go there to see it).
We're pretty optimistic about this one, and the ingredients are there for a soild thriller. "Safe House" opens on February 10th.
