Another fun and over the top action flick but with a little more eye candy than Red had! – Will
A CIA agent is accused of being a Russian spy and doesn’t help her cause when she then goes on the run.
Directed by – Phillip Noyce
Written by – Kurt Wimmer
Starring – Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher, Olek Krupa, Cassidy Hinkle, Corey Stoll
I was having a hard time coming up with films to watch after seeing Black Swan. That film was so good that I knew it was only going to make a mediocre flick seem worse so I went to my tried and true method, mindless action flicks. It’s very rare that I’ll watch an action movie that I don’t like regardless of its plot or impossible situations. It’s an action movie, it’s just there for shutting down your brain and watching things go boom. Salt managed to at least make me wonder where it was all headed for a bit along with providing some great action sequences.
Angelina Jolie is Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a KA agent, basically a Russian spy who lives in the US for years before being asked to complete a mission. She’s apparently supposed to kill the Russian president at the US vice presidents funeral. She’s held for questioning but pleads with fellow CIA agent Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) to let her contact her husband. Unable to reach him and fearful of what will happen to her now, she escapes and is now on the run. When she can’t find her husband at home she does exactly what you think she will, kills the Russian president. Wait, what?
Salt is on the run and it looks like she just may be the spy she was accused of being.
That was how the film managed to hook me. It’s all very unclear as to whether Salt is actually a Russian spy or not. It wouldn’t be anything new to have a film where someone is accused of being the bad guy and has to clear their name. To actually have that character be what they are accused of is much more interesting. Make no mistake, this is still a straight up action flick. Big explosions, over the top situations with impossible resolutions and a conspiracy filled plot. All the trademarks are there for a popcorn munching good time.
Salt manages to use all the genre clichés but at least tries to put a unique spin on them. There were more than a couple of moments that both my fiance and I were surprised at and the film left us wondering if Salt was really the bad guy the whole time. While very unbelievable at first, who makes a movie about the villain, I started to really get into the idea that the lead character was the person causing all the trouble and not stopping it. A little bit different from the usual stuff I’ve seen lately and that managed to keep me entertained from start to finish.
It's up to Ted (Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to bring Salt down.
Really, the film manages to accomplish what it set out to do in the first place. The action is great, the plot is interesting at least and questioning who is the good guy and who is the bad guy makes things a little bit more exciting. It’s an all around good action flick and of course we’re offered up a few variations on the entire thing with the unrated extended cuts. If I had realized that the film dropped onto DVD today I would have just waited and picked it up instead of going to the cheap ass theater by my place. It sounds like there are two other endings that were going around and the one offered up in the theater may be the least interesting of them.
Either way it was a good time and anyone looking to shut their brain off for an afternoon could do a lot worse than Salt. Hell, you could get stuck going to see Yogi Bear like I did on Saturday! HAHA!
Under the marquee – Will
