| 
| 
Is it worth $10? No
“Salt” opens with Angelina Jolie in her underwear. Her character, Evelyn Salt, is getting tortured in a North Korean prison, and keeps repeating: “I am not a spy, I am not a spy,” which savvy moviegoers know means that she is most definitely a spy.
This attention-grabbing sequence, which sets up elements of espionage, truth and Angelina’s underwear (which does come into play again later), is director Philip Noyce’s way of telling the audience to not believe what it immediately sees or hears. The problem is this lasts for the entire movie, as confusion, unclear motivations and intentional misdirection lead to an end result that is a muddled, preposterous mess.
Evelyn’s spy-status is confirmed when we see her working for the C.I.A. It’s quittin’ time at the office, but her boss, Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), asks her to interrogate an old Russian defector (Daniel Olbrychski) who turned himself in. He says a Russian spy named Evelyn Salt(!) is going to kill the Russian president at the New York City funeral of the U.S. vice president.
Ted believes Evelyn when she proclaims her innocence, but counter-intelligence agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ojiofor) doesn’t, and she’s taken into custody. She then she easily escapes, with the help of her underwear. Now think about this: If she was innocent and had nothing to hide, 1) she wouldn’t escape, and 2) all she has to do is not kill the Russian president! That’s it, just don’t do that one small thing and you’re free and clear.
But no, screenwriter Kurt Wimmer takes the story on a tilt-a-whirl before it gets dizzy and throws up an ending. The biggest flaw is that we never know whose side Evelyn is on, let alone why she’s doing what she’s doing. If the viewer has no one to root for, interest will lag no matter how exhilarating the action.
Occasional flashbacks attempt to add context, but fail in part because the movie needs clarity, not background info. The action is high impact and sufficiently rendered, but nothing special. One sequence involves Evelyn jumping onto three separate trucks while moving at a high speed on the highway, then stealing some guy’s motorcycle and riding to safety. The energy is high throughout, and the musical score by James Newton Howard nicely accentuates the action.
Why actors with the talent of Jolie, Schreiber and Ojiofor would get involved in this nonsense is anyone’s guess. No doubt the paycheck was nice, but they know better than anyone that the story needs to be there or everything else is irrelevant.
Complicated? Sure! Pointless? You bet. “Salt” is here to satisfy the massively growing demand for Cold War-inspired action movies set in the present day. Wait, there is no demand for that? No wonder it’s such a disappointment.
Did you know?
The lead was originally intended for Tom Cruise, but he dropped out as he thought it was too similar to his role in “Mission: Impossible.”
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
brudota
said:
 |
... The trailer actually brought me the sensation of one of those great action movies that you cannot miss it, but when I was there I was disappointed when the first 30 minutes of the movie showed the exact trailer. It was obvious since the beginning that Salt was a spy. The first scene explained it all, it showed that she was a spy and how well she could lie for so long even after the long torture she suffered. After that I already knew she was a Russian spy. The plot could be better written but the acting was great. I could feel reality in their feelings and actions, I could feel that I was being part of all that. The plot could be a little better though. |
Zeena
said:
|
... I enjoy watching this movie althought it was obvious that SALT was a spy but what totally caught me off guard was the twist with her boss, Ted. It was really entertaining and full of action from beginning to end. |
Gsypydreamer
said:
 |
... 70% of the audience appauded at the screening we attended. I loved it and was very entertained by the movie. Would recommend to my friends & family to go see.... |
hearbetty
said:
|
... The audience (at the screening I attended) applauded at movie's end! This thin, fragile-looking woman single-handedly outsmarts and outfights most of the best CIA agents and the President's personal guards. We're not quite sure WHO she really is and WHAT SIDE she's on but we can't wait to see what she does next. |
redgin
said:
|
... Iliked it despite the fact taht you don't have to use your nodles to much. yes it was obivious that she was a spy, but what remained to see is how far of a cold heart she was. pretty straight forward in storyline, pure entertainment, unlike INCETION REAL GOOD BUT ALOT OF HOMEWORK, SOMETIMES A WANT THAT , NOT ALWAYS. DiCaprio is consistent in getting movies like that.Good track record. Cruise should have taken it . it might just gross more than KNIGHT AND DAY. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
