Salt - DVD Review
Salt tries to represent a female counterpart to the Bourne series. Not only do they have a leading lady that isn’t afraid of action films (Angelina Jolie), they also have a director that has had a pretty good track record (Phillip Noyce). Combine all that those factors together and it should be a good recipe. I wish I could say that about this film.
Suffice to say it isn’t a bad film. If anything, the best word to use for this film is disappointment. For starters, the plot is trying to squeeze lots of information in 95 minutes. Basically, we spend the first half wondering if Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a bad guy. She runs away from the FBI and CIA. Then the second half of the film begins and we wonder if she really is a double (or even triple) agent.
What’s appreciative of the movie is the idea of multiple agents infiltrating various government organizations. Noyce wanted to present these groups with lots of complexity. But someone should’ve told Noyce that with this short running time, it would be impossible to delve into those many subplots. By opening those doors, it leaves too many questions to be unanswered. That alone makes the film so unsatisfying.
Another thing that didn’t help matters is the action. Granted, the first couple of scenes were pretty involving but as the story gets out of hand, so does the action scenes. What makes the Bourne films work is that the action was not only engaging but it accelerated the heart beat. The adrenaline has to be pumping and as the movie moves on it eventually dropped.
This film is definitely something to pick up if there’s nothing else to see. There are flashes, even moments, of brilliance. But with the reliance of CGI and an underdeveloped story, a movie that had aspirations to be like Bourne considerably did reach that mark. Such a shame.
- Running Time - 1:35
- MPAA Rating - Rated PG-13 for violence
- Director - Phillip Noyce
- Cast - Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher, Olek Krupa
- Screenplay - Kurt Wimmer
- Music - James Newton Howard
- US Release Date - 07-23-2010
