Angelina Jolie has become one of the boys. She is perhaps the only successful female action star in Hollywood today. As a matter of fact, Salt was written for a male and the role had been offered to Tom Cruise. But once he declined and they restructured the script for a female lead, Jolie came on board, which was probably the best decision.
CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is told she is a Russian spy and is going to assassinate the Russian president. Now this makes no sense to her but others who work with her have some suspicions, and Salt flees trying to protect her husband while trying to clear her name. This leads to a lot of chases and hopping from one vehicle to another and jumping down elevator shafts. It is quite a rush with nice action sequences throughout.
What makes Salt the most intriguing is trying to figure out who Evelyn Salt is. Is she really working for the CIA or is she really a Russian spy? What about her husband and her friends ? Does anyone know who she really is? And the movie takes more than a few twists and turns at finding out who Salt is and the characters around her. Salt is about not knowing and finding out one piece at a time.
This movie has been referred to a female’s The Bourne Identity. Now I could see where some one could make that comparison, but after seeing the movie they do not have much in common and the Bourne movies are better. Salt plays like a serious movie that include people who could really exist in the real world. Now with the stories about the Russian spies that have been capturing headlines for the past month, it does make you wonder. However, this movie does not resemble reality, especially when it comes to the non-stop action.
The action is fun, fast, and explosive, but also unbelievable and far-fetched. I tried to go along with it but some things I just was not able to buy in to. It definitely started to bother me once the elevator sequence happened. It looked fake from the very beginning. Some things you can ignore while other things you may roll your eyes at.
Salt has its issues, but it is an exciting, action movie that keeps you guessing until it’s all said and done. It may think it is more clever than it really is, but director Phillip Noyce can rely on Angelina Jolie and other cast members like Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor to go that extra mile. This movie gives you what it promises: a beautiful woman handing out action and violence.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
