Follow up:
SALT
OPENS: Friday, July 23, 2010 (wide)
MPAA Rating: This film has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for intense sequences of violence and action.
RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes
URL: www.WhoIsSalt.com
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Screenplay by: Kurt Wimmer and Brian Helgeland
Story by: Kurt Wimmer
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andre Braugher
Studio Synopsis:
Angelina Jolie stars in Salt, a contemporary action thriller from Columbia Pictures.
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who Is Salt?”
J.P.’s Take:
Salt is not an up front stunner at first glance. In fact it’s a plain Jane of an action film in the beginning. We are treated to a gritty opening scene with Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) being tortured and beaten by Korean soldiers. Then some time later the CIA and her husband rescue her.
More time has passed and during an interrogation session with a known Russian master spy Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), Salt is told she is a Russian spy. Once she is told how and why, her own colleagues in the CIA begin to suspect she’s one as well. What she does next leads to an eye opening revelation as to her true identity.
So what does she do? Well, like any suspect who claims to be innocent, she goes on the run. A fair amount of gunfire, chases and inventive escape routines transpire; however, it’s not the action you should be focused on. The fact that Salt is actually a Russian spy is what’s brought to everyone’s attention. Kurt Wimmer wrote the script and makes it apparent that, yes, she is part of a splinter group (a.k.a. sleeper cells) that infiltrates the American culture. This splinter group embeds themselves in the very fabric of everyday life in the U.S., only to be reactivated to complete their collective mission. The tale woven around that fact leads to more clues and impending deaths in her wake and endless fighting.
Each of these experiences lends themselves to nice unexpected twists, keeping the story from becoming stagnant. And although the story is sound enough, however, it’s the action scenes some audience members found ridiculous. For instance, Salt hurtles herself from the freeway over pass onto a semi truck, then onto another one without thinking twice (and without a cape for that matter). She hops from the other big rig and onto a motorcycle — making a clean get away. Maybe her pride was hurt, but that’s about it. Salt then makes a miraculous escape, with out serious injury or even flinching. Even when she’s being beaten, Salt seems to take it like a prized boxer, who’s just won the championship. You’ll find that these incredible stunts look run of the mill and bone crunching, but you know in the back of your head that she should be placed in an ICU where she’s watched around the clock.
O.K., we get the fact that Salt is a highly trained agent with skills up the wazoo, but some things become over kill. If you want to find fault with this movie, blame it on the impossible stunts. I will give director Phillip Noyce the credit for the particularly gruesome scene between Liev Schreiber (playing CIA agent Ted Winter) and Angelina Jolie. She pulls a move that would make a UFC fighter proud. You have to see it to believe it.
Searching for Salt throughout the film is Chiwetel Ejiofor (“2012,” “Serenity”), who gives a nice performance as Agent Peabody.
Jolie really looks like a leading star here. She’s not afraid of taking on some deadly stunts and, of course, adding sex appeal any way she can to the role. Think of “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” as being an exercise for her. She plays Evelyn Salt as a determined, deadly opponent bent on destroying those who wronged her.
Although “Salt” comes up with a creative way to make Russian spies fashionable again, the story is not a serious brainteaser. Out of all the crummy films I’ve seen this year, so far; besides “Inception,” “Salt” is somewhat of an exceptional summer blockbuster.
Richard’s Take:
Angelina Jolie takes on the action hero role in her starring showcase, “Salt.” She plays Evelyn Salt, a well-trained CIA operative, who is part James Bond, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., John McClane of “Die Hard” films, and MacGyver.
During an interrogation of a known Russian defector, Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), Salt is accused of being a Russian sleeper spy. From there, Salt goes on the run to prove her innocence, while her CIA colleague Winter (Liev Schreiber) and CIA’s counter-intelligence division agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are hot on her trail.
To get right to my feelings toward the film, I thought “Salt” was a pretty good action thriller. There are numerous stunts throughout the film that may come off as unbelievable (such as leaping from truck to truck with minor scratches or descending from an elevator shaft by jumping from beam to beam), but it worked, surprisingly, for the most part.
Director Phillip Noyce, who is considered a master of the political thrillers, such as “Clear and Present Danger” and “Patriot Games,” does a wonderful job in keeping the action tight. Additionally, Noyce directs the story, with a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (“Ultraviolet,” Equilibrium”) and Brian Helgeland (2009’s “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3”), in a pretty clear, straight forward direction and doesn’t allow all the stunts and the CGI effects to take over the story, unlike many action films of late, such as the action-enhanced and no plot, “The A-Team.”
The best part of the film I thought was the “Who is Salt?,” the catch phrase of the film’s tagline. Is she a Russian sleeper spy, a person who can wait for decades before acting on their true mission? Or is she a true heroine who caught in the middle of a Russian takeover? There is a lot of back and forth on the true identity of Salt, which makes you keep guessing.
Although the original role of Salt was conceived for a male action star (Tom Cruise was considered), I thought Angelina Jolie did a fine job playing the lead action hero, regardless of her gender. She has the beauty, the smarts…and a good left kick to beat the enemy.
Apparently, Jolie was ready for such a film, “I love doing action movies,” explains the one-time “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” star. “I’ve always loved to run and jump around and be physical.”
While there is much action-oriented violence, the film is rated PG-13 with only a small dose of strong language. The 91 minutes film is an interesting roller coaster of action and suspense with some over-the-top dialogue and stunts, but it won’t make you feel you wasted $12 dollars for a ticket price.