Salt (2010)

Rating: 5/10 (27 December 2011)

Angelina Jolie is a spy on the run. Accused of being a Russian spy, she tries to sort things out for herself. The film does well in keeping her motives and character shadowy enough so we always suspect her. Schreiber and Ejiofor, two of the most perfect supporting actors, really make this look easy. Nailing the trusting and untrusting agents. The action is fast and heavy, with Noyce behind the camera, this all feels real and gritty. The violence was actually too much for an espionage thriller. It really pushed the envelope, but in ways that really disconnected me from Salt. Bond, Bourne, Bauer, etc. All managed to keep a certain amount of charm, humanity, or innocence in their performance. A bit surprising to find the female equivalent as a pretty heartless bitch.My main issue was the outdatedness of the whole cold war paranoia. Sure, the spy genre took a major hit when the Soviet Union collapsed, but I found it a bit too much to really feel any threat. Action good, characters OK, plot and originality very poor.