Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor & Live Schreiber
Despite a plot and plot twists that stretch credibility, Salt is still and enjoyable and fast paced action thriller with a good performance from Angelina Jolie continuing to cement her position as an action heroine.
Originally meant as a project to star Tom Cruise, Salt was forced to undergo re-writes when Cruise turned down the film in fears that its concept and characters were too close to those of the Mission: Impossible franchise that Cruise had already starred in. The director, Phillip Noyce, then turned to Angelina Jolie whom he had worked with in 1999 on The Bone Collector, re-writing the script to have the film focus on a female lead rather than a male. The resulting film, while not matching the quality of Noyce’s films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger in terms of realism is nevertheless a fast paced and enjoyable action thriller in the mould to the Bourne Identity series though remarkably more far fetched.
Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is an American spy working for the CIA, when a Russian defector walks into a secure facility claiming he has knowledge of an assassination attempt that will soon take place on American soil to kill the Russian President, Salt is assigned the task of interrogating him to decide if his story is true. When this defector, Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), makes claims that the assassin is a Russian spy working within the CIA and names that assassin as Evelyn Salt, Salt is detained for questioning though Salt, who claims to be being framed, is unable to reach her husband who she fears may be in danger. Salt escapes custody shortly after Orlov does the same and goes on the run claiming to be looking for her husband and hoping to find the real assassin though her escape compounds her guilt in the eyes of her colleague Winters (Schreiber) and Agent Peabody (Ejiofor) who has been tasked the assignment of capturing Salt and stopping the assassination. Is Salt innocent as she claims and who is manipulating her and the Americans?
Fast paced and with some exciting action sequences, Salt seems to be trying to outdo The Bourne Identity films whilst also cementing Angelina Jolie’s status as an action heroine and launch a spy franchise with Jolie to rival that of Bourne and Bond. While Salt certainly lacks some of the complexity or the feelings of realism that can be attributed to the Bourne and Bond films, it certainly matches them in terms of action, a memorable lead and exceeds them when it comes to plot twists. Salt does suffer somewhat from having too many plot twists as loyalties switch, switch and switch again sometimes at so fast a frequency to stretch credibility though one mid act twist involving Jolie’s character serves to strengthen the film and the character by muddying her motives and leaving audiences guessing over who it is they are rooting for. The action sequences, while often enjoyable also occasionally stretch credibility beyond that that is often seen in the Bourne and recent Bond films which are more willing to acknowledge the toll some actions take upon their heroes. A scene inside an elevator shaft and another in a police vehicle involving Salt, an officer and a tazer are amongst the more ludicrous moments as well as one act of disguise where Jolie comically, though perhaps unintentionally, resembles Cruise. Still, despite some of its silliness, Salt is still enjoyable and certainly has the potential to lead to more films with its lead character.
Angelina Jolie is a good choice for the lead role of Evelyn Salt, even during some of more unbelievable action sequences; Jolie sells her character’s capabilities with conviction and cements herself as cinema’s current, leading action heroine. Jolie is able to portray the character’s humanity early on whilst making the transition to superspy almost believable later on though still able to convey her vulnerabilities as seen in one moment when her character witnesses a distressing act but must maintain her composure to survive. The relationship Salt has with her husband is somewhat less credible, as seen through several flashback sequences that are needlessly saccharine, though Jolie’s struggle to make them convincing is somewhat down to the script and direction than the performance. Providing support in Salt are Live Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor as two agents tracking her down, the former a long time colleague of Salt’s. While neither of their characters are particularly well developed nor Schreiber or Ejiofor’s performances particular memorable as a result, both actors are nevertheless fine in their performances.
With plot twists and action sequences that make the recent Bond and Bourne films seem even more realistic in comparison, Salt is nevertheless an enjoyable if often ridiculous action film though the conviction of Angelina Jolie in the lead role makes for a memorable action heroine and certainly has the potential to launch a new franchise in the spy thriller genre.
Rating: 3/5
