Gunfire, explosions and Denzel Washington couldn’t save the movie “Safe House” from mediocrity.

In a market flooded by spy and espionage movies such as “The Bourne Identity” and “Casino Royale,” there’s nothing that “Safe House” does that should amaze audiences familiar with these films.

Washington plays a dangerous renegade CIA agent named Tobin Frost. Frost carries top-secret government information that can be dangerous in the wrong hands. As Frost is restrained in a CIA safe house, the place is later attacked by a group of mercenaries who want him dead. It’s up to the main character of the film, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), an inexperienced CIA operative, to get Frost to safety and figure out just who is trying to kill him.

The acting in the movie is solid, but the poorly written script takes away from the performance to a degree.

The script never goes deep into the motivations of some of the characters, especially Frost. It also does a poor job at giving audiences characters to care about.

At the beginning, instead of trying to expose some of the government corruption, Frost would rather sell the information and get paid.

After seeing him survive all the high-speed car chases and gunfights, it becomes hard rooting for him to get a paycheck.

On the other hand, Weston’s character isn’t dominant enough to take the lead role.

While Weston is the main character of the film, he takes a backseat to Frost, as Frost is just a more interesting and better-acted character.

“Safe House” delivers what you would expect from an action thriller, but doesn’t excite enough to give viewers anything new.

The movie isn’t terrible, but it’s better experienced as a rental.