Salt

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chietel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Andre Braugher
Directed by: Philip Noyce
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A Russian defector claims CIA Agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a Russian mole who will make an assassination attempt. Salt goes on the run, while her partner (Liev Schreiber) tries to find out the truth- Who is Salt?

Review:

Tim: Salt is pretty much everything you would expect from an action movie- it features some great chase scenes, some good gunfights, a few explosions, and an obvious villain in Russia. The movie does feature a few surprises, but delivers mostly what action fans want. The movie is executed well, but doesn't really do anything new or different or unique. The biggest difference in this film is something that wasn't intentional- the casting of a female lead. Originally, it was supposed to be a male, and Tom Cruise was approached. When he declined, they rewrote it for Angelina Jolie.

Jolie's presence is the main reason to see this movie. So few females get the lead in a real action movie. Jolie is the exception, and does good work in the part. It is fun watching this one unique aspect- Salt is a better movie because of Jolie in the lead the role. It's fun watching a woman kick ass and be a real action hero, rather than just the girlfriend or some other small supporting role. That was my favorite aspect of the film. It helps that Jolie is quite good in the role. She's truly a worthy action heroine, and I hope she makes more of these movies. Jolie comes across as intelligent, calculating, and also very deadly. There are few actresses that could pull off the stunts as believably as Jolie does. That was important, and Jolie delivers.

The supporting cast are good as well. I've always thought Liev Schreiber was an underrated actor, and he proves his worth again here. He gives a quietly strong performance, acting as a good partner to Jolie on screen. I also really enjoy Chiwetel Ejiofor. He is quite good in this film as well. I enjoyed these two actors very much.

This film delivers a good action movie, impressive action sequences, the requisite number of killings and explosions. Here's the biggest problem- the one that holds the film back- the plot itself is actually kind of stupid. By stupid, I simply mean that not everything makes that happens makes sense. So much of the plot requires a massive degree of suspending disbelief. The plot is a bit outlandish, which hurts the film. The plot is interesting and offers up some cool possibilities- it just doesn't always feel logical or realistic. I wish that wasn't so, but it is. I'll give an example- the scene where Jolie uses a taser to get a driver to push his foot on the gas. This scene is just so silly, it took me out of the film. I will admit that the story perfectly sets up a sequel, and I am actually hoping they do a follow up film- that would have the potential to be even better than this one.

I definitely believe Salt could have been better. However, the movie still delivers a solid action movie. I couldn't get too excited about this, but I did enjoy the film, and I would gladly watch it again. The movie does enough right to get you to care about the characters, and to look forward to possible sequels.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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