Movie Review Mondays: SALT

Okay, I know it's not Monday, but I still want to get one movie review in here per week. This is another review I wrote for the Tri-City Voice last summer, and I am posting it here with their permission. Enjoy!

“SALT” Movie Review

Rating: PG-13

Run Time: 100 minutes

Release Date: Summer 2010

A compelling combination of action and mystery, Phillip Noyce (“Catch a Fire” 2006) directs “Salt,” starring Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt. This is the Australian-born director’s second film with Jolie. The other is “The Bone Collector,” (1999). Noyce is a self-made director, known for his docu-dramas and “political thrillers,” according to the Internet Movie Database. “Salt” is definitely a thriller.

Viewers first see Evelyn Salt stripped to her underwear, bleeding, chained to the floor in a dirty, dark room, surrounded by North Korean soldiers. Salt chants over and over, “I am not a spy, I am not a spy,” and audiences collectively cringe as gasoline is forced down her throat. Luckily, Salt is soon traded back into U.S. custody, with fellow CIA agent Ted Winter, played by Liev Schreiber (“The Sum of All Fears,” 2002) waiting for her.

Everything appears to go back to normal, and just as Salt is leaving work, a Russian defector arrives. The traitor Orlov, played by Daniel Olbrychski, (a European TV and movie actor) spins a tale for Salt, a twisted plot to take over the world using brainwashed children. These children are planted in American families, poised to cause maximum damage when the time is right. Salt scoffs at the story and moves to leave, but then the old man condemns Salt as the Russian spy who will kill the Russian President during his visit to the Capitol.

Jolie’s portrayal of Evelyn Salt is certainly intimidating—she pulls off incredible stunts in every action sequence—but despite her outward beauty, Salt’s character is heartless at times. Perhaps that is Noyce’s intent, to show how politics and power can corrupt and canker anything beautiful. Salt has a husband in the film, but it does little to endear her to audience members. When any character spends all their time killing and lying, it makes whatever “good” they manage to do practically meaningless.

Other key characters in this film include Chiwetel Ejiofor (“2012,” Adrian Helmsley, 2009) as Peabody, Salt’s boss. Peabody immediately takes Orlov’s accusation seriously and attempts to pin Salt down for questioning, making him the misled good guy in the film. Ejiofor plays his part well, and moviegoers will enjoy cheering on Salt as she continues to evade Peabody.

Low lighting, unsteady camera angles and grainy security camera shots add to the ambience, giving audience members a good feel for what it’s like chasing someone down. The musical score fits well, speeding up during chase scenes and intensifying the quiet, about-to-blow moments in the movie. There was nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about it, but it fit just fine.

Those in the mood for an action-packed mystery with plenty of twists and turns will enjoy seeing “Salt” this summer. For those in the mood for something heartwarming and fulfilling, however, this is not the movie for them. Anyone who is not a diehard Angelina Jolie or action movie fan would do better to wait for this film to come out on DVD to rent rather than see it on the silver screen.