Salt

Rating

Director
Phillip Noyce
Screenplay
Kurt Wimmer
Length
PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action
Starring
Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Olbrychski, August Diehl, Daniel Pearce, Hunt Block, Andre Braugher, Olek Krupa, Cassidy Hinkle
MPAA Rating
100 min.

Review
Fun doesn’t always have to make sense and although Salt is far from a great film, it has enough action, emotion and intrigue to please many. Taking many of the best cues from the Bourne franchise, this tale of Russian sleeper agents and American counter-intelligence has twists and turns that while predictable are worth watching just to see how they resolve themselves. Angelina Jolie may have been the perfect choice for this film, her highly regarded dramatic roles in recent films like Changeling and A Mighty Heart give her the ability to connect with audiences emotionally while her many varied action projects prepared her for creating a believable, kick-ass super spy.

A sequel is inevitable and although I doubt the franchise can rival either the currently-stalled Bond or the likely future Bourne films, it may carve a nice niche within the genre. They will need to do a great deal of work to make the next plot believable, but with the few questionable narrative conveniences delivered in the original, I have little doubt the possibilities will be endless. And perhaps they’ll tie up a few loose ends in the next film, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Strangely, the largest point of confusion for me with this film was how did Andre Braugher who was on screen for maybe two minutes rate an individual on-screen credit when August Diehl who played Salt’s husband Michael Krause who appeared in several scenes and had at least five times the dialogue of Braugher didn’t even get that much. I guess ego helps immeasurably.
Review Written
July 26, 2010