The best kind of Action movie

Rating: 9/10 (6 September 2010)

Diane and I saw this film today without knowing anything about it and we were both surprised and satisfied (although tired) at the end of the movie; tired because it requires visual concentration and mind concentration to follow the script ins and outs. I think that I have sat through enough Hollywood thrillers to pretty much know how a film will play out without, of course, knowing the exact sequence of events in the script but Salt was very different. From the opening scenes of the film all the way through, the action just kept happening. To me, there were no quiet moments where the various elements of the plot were allowed to come together and give the viewer a little break to catch their breath; the pace of the film was somewhere around 95% for the entire film.
Salt was directed by Phillip Noyce, an Australian director, and he kept the film rolling very quickly. I must hand it to him, or to the Editor (or both probably) because the physical action scenes were very deftly cut. Jolie (not that I am that knowledgeable about her roles) was asked to do some amazing bits of physical fighting and the action was cut quickly giving the viewer a high speed ride through much of the film. The action was pretty much nonstop through the film and it was truly a fantasy because the action was just for video games and comic books because it was improbable. That is not to denigrate the film in any way but if you see it do not leave the theatre disappointed because it was make-believe. Of course it was but it was also a terribly good way to spend an afternoon.