Salt

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2010)

From the director of PATRIOT GAMES comes this actioner with political intrigue starring Angelina Jolie as CIA agent Evelyn Salt, who may just be a Russian mole well trained to instigate the downfall of the United States through the murder of the Russian President. On the run, and seeking to find her husband, a spider specialist(whose ties to North Korea come in handy in both rescuing Salt, but helping her invade the enemy's country for intelligence), Mike Krause(August Diehl), we see that Salt might just be the mole agent Peabody(Chiwetel Ejiofor)fears she is when Evelyn orchestrates the supposed murder of Russian President Mayveyev(Olek Krupa)attending the funeral of America's Vice President. Salt is a Princeton graduate with training in all forms of intelligence and combat. Is Salt a Russian spy? If so, has she seen the error of her ways? The finale could have Salt involved in the assassination of the US President!
Set aside the unbelievable plot, you really can not take it with a grain of salt(pun intended)as Salt leaps from bridges to the top of a moving truck, then from another moving truck to yet a third! In this jaw dropping action sequence has CIA and police attempting to chase her down(of course, failing to do so)in order to see if she is in fact the mole. Liev Schreiber is CIA agent Ted Winter, Salt's boss, who has a hard time accepting that Salt could be a mole. You have the incredible escape to New York City as mentioned above(see how Salt hops on a motorcycle to evade her pursuers inside a lot of traffic, not to mention how she escapes from her apartment on the outside of the building walking across small ledges)topped by the amazing razzle dazzle after being captured, handcuffed, placed inside a cop truck to be escorted to prison, again able to get away thanks to a taser(you just have to see how she uses this weapon to force a subdued cop driver into pressing the accelerator to move the vehicle, finishing with a death defying plunge from a bridge into parked cars below), soon meeting up with her old teacher, Vassily Orlov(Daniel Olbrychski), who was actually responsible for blowing her cover(this odd occurrence which sets everything in motion is later explained in more detail). Why would Orlov expose his pupil to her superiors? I will not give away a twist identifying a second mole, but it does give meaning to Orlov's opening scene in the CIA interrogation room. There's also the conclusion taking place in the White House as we truly see where Salt's loyalties reside. The fate of the Russian President and the attempt to kill the US President both play a hand into the horrifying possibility of nuclear war, which builds the suspense at the end as we see Salt move past numerous Secret agents heading towards the "war room". I can see why many compared SALT to a Bourne movie, just as directed by someone like Philip Noyce whose past films(such as PATRIOT GAMES & CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER)revolved around DC and the political spectrum. Jolie is equipped with phenomenal fighting abilities, she can take down anyone in her path. Her identity is mysterious, we are held in the dark in regards to her motivations, but we certainly see the damage Salt is capable of. Everything hinges on Salt's feelings for her husband, and his fate is what will push her towards her ultimate destination.