Dehydration

Rating: 6/10 (10 September 2010)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. With that said, I do what I can to give credit where it is due, and if something is well-done, no matter what, I will try to convey that it is, and why it is. First off, if you like conspiracy theories, you may very well like this plot(oh, and don't think about it much, it'll fall apart). There are a lot of twists(so many that at the end, you feel without any grounding). I think this is because Kurt Wimmer wrote it; and I think it would have helped immensely if someone else had helped with the action scenes, because I think they would have fared better in a stylized picture(like the ones he directs), instead of the somewhat realistic approach here(the two cause obvious conflict; it doesn't help that the speed of the martial arts gives up on trying to compete with the likes of Bourne from the get-go), and honestly, only about half of it is effective, and very little of it is downright memorable or outstanding. This is not his fault, I would say(Ultraviolet proves that he can craft amazing sequences, and I'm watching Equilibrium as soon as I can). He was an inappropriate choice for the tone. Noyce isn't bad(and he can certainly do one of these well when Tom Clancy is at least partially responsible for the source material), and we know he can deliver a popcorn flick that'll last the duration(and to an extent that is what happens here; this is intense, and I was never bored... not everything excites, though). The real issue is the lack of characters that you can really cling onto; yes, you spend this trying to figure out if Salt is "good" or "evil", and we're thus not sure who to root for. You can get away with anti-heroes, but ones that you have no idea about *for the entire thing*, that's going over the line. Dialog varies, most of the attempts at being clever fail. It doesn't help that the concept is hopelessly outdated. There are pretty cool guns in this. The chasing is excessive and often feels like it goes nowhere. Editing and cinematography is nice enough, and the hand-held is kept to a fitting amount. Music is appropriate. Acting is great, especially Jolie(who, in spite of being skinny, looks hawt) who truly does provoke emotional response, and to a slightly lesser extent, Schreiber. I like that they don't use ridiculous gadgets, and the spy-stuff has moments. The disguises somehow consist entirely of dyed hair, coloured contact lenses and/or a hat/clothes. There is a little moderate swearing, bloody violence and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to those who very badly want to see a chick kick ass(me, I'll keep my fingers crossed for more genuinely excellent ones like that). 6/10