Dir. Philip Noyce
Who is SALT? The trailer has been aired to nauseum on every television channel and before every movie for a couple months now. With the opening of the trailer my eyes automatically looked away from what should have been a train wreck. Angelina Jolie, the Octo-mom of the Third World, in total TOMB RAIDER and MR. & MRS. SMITH mode hasn’t been in a decent role since CHANGELING, and for much longer before that. From the guy who wrote the completely ridiculous LAW ABIDING CITIZEN as well. Then my girlfriend asked to go see it, and I needed to write a review for something new this week. I went.
One thing I refuse to do in this review is provide too much plot detail. That would do you a disservice since that is one of the movie’s redeeming qualities. Basically, Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn (Ev) Salt, a CIA operative who is accused of being a Russian spy planted in the US. The accuser is Vassily Orlov (played by Daniel Olbrychski so well), a Russian defector to the US who warns of Salt’s intentions to murder the Russian president during the funeral of the US Vice President’s funeral. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse between Salt and fellow CIA operatives Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) with a major identity crisis. Who is the Russian spy?
All of the omens that were laid before me could not trump the two things that saved this movie. Philip Noyce & acting. Director Philip Noyce knows how to stage and direct a quality action movie. With movies like CLEAR & PRESENT DANGER, PATRIOT GAMES, THE SAINT, and THE BONE COLLECTOR under his belt, Noyce is clearly an expert. What else does this guy bring to the table? Art. Throughout SALT the action takes center stage, but there is a constant beauty that resonates throughout. What I didn’t realize about Noyce was that he is the same director who directed THE QUIET AMERICAN and RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, both of which are wonderful films that prove his well-rounded nature as a director. This guy does an incredible job at staging some the most fantastic fight and chase scenes this side of THE BOURNE IDENTITY.
The next great asset to this movie is some of the actors involved. Angelina does her thing that she does so well. She looks hot, kicks ass, and acts well, but the cake goes to a few others. First of all, where in the hell has Liev Schreiber been? SALT made me realize how good this guy could be. He’s so enjoyable to watch. As Salt’s boss and friend, Liev gives a very solid and physically demanding performance. Another strong building block is Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster/2012) as fellow CIA operative dealing in Internal Affairs. He is another solid performance that creates a solid backbone for all for all of the action surrounding. I want to see this guy more. He has a presence and a certain level of bad-assery that really grabs your attention. The third piece of the puzzle is German actor August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds) as Salt’s husband and expert arachnologist. His small amount of screen time is a shame because he does so well. Each of these three actors all help the action flow and keep you guessing with their wonderful performances. Without each of these performances SALT might not work as well.
This is not a perfect movie though. A few loose ends and over-used plot devices plague what could be the best action movie of the summer. Both issues are subject to a twisting screenplay that makes up for some of the shortcomings with a mind-bending plot that will literally leave you guessing until the last few seconds.
Suspend all disbelief for an hour and a half and see SALT and enjoy it. Fun, cool, Jolie, and bad-ass action.
p.s. Since every reviewer insisted on making a pun of the title in their review I made it a point not to do so. You know…to keep my blood pressure down, darn salt.
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