Plot – A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy – Salt.
Director – Phillip Noyce
Starring – Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Genre – Action | Mystery | Thriller
Released – 2010
Salt is an absurd and unbelievable movie that severely tests your ability to suspend your disbelief. But luckily the filmmakers know this. Yet, it’s extremely well made and exciting action flick that unlike others made around the early ’10s, Salt doesn’t try to be more than the sum of its parts, never getting too ambitious or pretentious, which in most cases would make this a highly enjoyable summer action film.
Films starring Angelina Jolie usually means the movie is likely to be high quality and here that’s definitely the case, She’s just as impressive here as her previous action roles, filling her role with a surprising level of emotional depth and achieving some terrific stunt works throughout the film. It’s here that one of the film’s issues arises, with her character leaping from the tops of vehicles, driving at high speed and making exploding devices with fire extinguishers and running shoeless from one place to another, just to name a few.
At a certain point, it becomes unbelievable that one person could do all this without getting injured or killed. At no point does she show any actual signs of fatigue, which stops you from worrying about her character’s wellbeing as she’s clearly superhuman. The other downside is the poor development of secondary characters, for example, Liev Schreiber’s character doesn’t seem to have much to do and his story arc can be seen a mile off, while Chiwetel Ejiofor seems to be there only to provide a small amount of danger to Salt (Jolie).
Despite these downsides, the film benefits from having many action set-pieces and high adrenaline sequences, each done to a high standard and pushing the plot along at a face pace. Which all in all makes Salt is an entertaining if somewhat forgettable movie? It’s a shame that this didn’t spawn the anticipated franchise as there’s a clear gap in the market for a female lead spy, one that will have to be filled by either Black Widow or Atomic Blonde.
If you liked: Terminator: Dark Fate, Spectre, Enemy of the State