The most fun I had since "Raiders of The Lost Ark"

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2010)

Spy, mystery, and action films are exciting and very good when done right and with the perfect star. Harrison Ford infused the "Indiana Jones" films with his sense of humour and adventure, and he was certainly a great asset to "The Fugitive" and the "Star Wars" series. The formula works well in "Salt" when Angelina Jolie delivers a magnetic and exciting performance which becomes the furious center of this marvelous thriller.
There is not a lime wasted in long explanations and flashbacks to make the story too complex and seem more sophisticated than what it is. Instead it's a non-stop series of chases when layer after layer is peeled, and we are still glued to the screen wondering how this all will end. Thankfully, we still care that the leading lady is someone we care about, even when we don't know what role she might be playing.
The film is the perfect length, clocking at under 100 minutes and giving us plenty of superb action, incredible stunt work, and somehow in the middle of this lightweight entertainment, this is a very entertaining film that never lags for one second, some good acting, particularly, Jolie who can transmit more with a couple of glances than a long, convoluted speech can muster. This is not a film that wastes its precious minutes in silly dialogue. It gives us what we expect to see in a movie of this kind, a relentless, nonstop, exciting, and sometimes fantastic adventure where we care about what happens to the protagonist who might be the ultimate heroine or the most incredible villain.
In the middle of a series of intrigues which eventually reveal Salt's true nature, and through which she must prove her innocence or be proved guilty, she confronts obstacle after obstacle on her way to one of the most exciting and satisfying conclusion in recent cinema. Indeed, this is a film you don't want to stop even when you might need that bathroom break. No hoopla here, just plenty of top notch work by Jolie, Schreiber, and Phillip Noyce and his very capable team of editors and other professionals.
This is one time when I was looking forward to seeing a "To Be Continued" at the end of the story, and I wouldn't have been one bit disappointed. I am looking forward to seeing more and more of this type of work.