Angelina Jolie is Agent Salt, and that is all that matters

Rating: 6/10 (23 August 2010)

¨My name is Evelyn Salt.¨ Salt isn't your smart, suspenseful typical thriller, it isn't The Bourne Identity, it simply is a mindless blockbuster action film starring one of the best action stars of our decade: Angelina Jolie. Yes, I said best action star, and perhaps in a couple of decades she will be staring in a female version of The Expendables. Jolie is fun to watch on screen and we can't seem to take our eyes off her and that is why we went to go see this movie in the first place because I doubt anyone went into this picture expecting a smart film when they heard Kurt Wimmer wrote the original screenplay, the man who brought us Ultraviolet. Director, Phillip Noyce worked with Angelina Jolie in the past with The Bone Collector, before she had become such a huge star, and he is also known for directing Tom Clancy movies such as Clear and Present Danger. The problem with Salt is that Wimmer is no Clancy and the plot is pretty ridiculous, but what saves him is that Jolie is a pretty dependable star and we want to believe pretty much anything she does. Angelina seems to be in pretty good shape as she runs for the entire 100 minutes and jumps from bridges, moving vehicles, elevator shafts, and helicopters. She is able to single handedly outrun the CIA, FBI, and whoever stands in her way, and can even get past White House security. When you have so many absurd situations and plot holes the best thing you can do is rely on Jolie to jump from one mind numbing scene to another.
Angelina Jolie is Salt, a CIA agent who won the respect of her colleagues after suffering as a prisoner in North Korea without giving away any information. Her boss, Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), rescues her by exchanging her for another prisoner. Salt's husband Mike (August Diehl) is the reason why she's still alive because the CIA had made it clear they would sacrifice her for the greater good, but his insistence pays off and Salt is forever indebted to him. Twelve years later, on her anniversary, a Russian man comes to the agency saying he has crucial information. His name is Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) and Salt has to interrogate him. He tells her a story about an organization called ¨Day X¨ that's destined to destroy the United States. He claims that a powerful man has trained a group of kids to infiltrate the country and pass as Americans, but they are actually Russian spy's who will attack on Day X. One of these spies will kill the Russian President, and her name is Evelyn Salt. Winter doesn't believe these claims, but Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) says he has to arrest her. Salt argues she isn't a spy, but she is worried about her husband and decides to escape knowing that her actions might remove all doubts about her being a spy. From this point on the film became a high speed chase which is a relief because the plot was going downhill and our mind needed to be diverted.
I thought the movie was going to completely lose me in the first 15 minutes when Orlov showed up and the plot was unfolded. The ¨Day X¨ organization seemed completely ridiculous and I was hating the movie, but after the action began at least my mind was distracted and I was entertained with the chase scenes. Jolie made the otherwise ridiculous movie entertaining. There was plenty of action and the movie could be enjoyed simply as a blockbuster movie, but don't expect an intelligent thriller, and keep your mind off the plot and the ridiculous twists. Liev Schreiber and Ejiofor were decent in their supporting roles and did what they could with the terrible script. The only reason why I enjoyed this movie and had fun was because of Angelina Jolie who is a bankable action star, but if you happen not to be a fan of her work then I guarantee you will hate this film. This is one of those movies you enjoy seeing once, but probably wouldn't want to watch again. It is a fun, but forgettable blockbuster action movie.
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