SALT starring Angelina Jolie: Review
by Oscar on Jul.25, 2010, under Movie Reviews
THIS ISN’T “CINEMA” BUT IT IS ENTERTAINING
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwitel Ejiofor, August Diehl
Director: Phillip Noyce
Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Industry rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.
With her almond shaped eyes and ample lips Angelina Jolie is always pleasant to look at, and in certain instances she has even shown that she can act, but an “action hero”? Well…not so much! Admittedly, she DID do a nice turn as a professional hit-person in “WANTED”, but that was in a limited scope where the bulk of the action did not depend on HER! In “SALT” she has the burden of carrying the action in a believable manner, but at 5’7″ tall and 120 pounds she just can’t cut it. Also, the plot itself suffers from some logical leaps, but they are covered well by the action sequences: Jolie jumping from a bridge, Jolie taking down a motorcyclist and high-jacking the bike, Jolie taking out a derelict ship full of Russian spies, and Jolie impersonating a young, male Russian officer while penetrating the high security presidential bunker in the White House.
There is really nothing new in this latest spy thriller that we haven’t already seen in any of the “Bourne” movies but, please excuse my chauvinism, Angelina is much nicer to watch for an old lech like me. Sure she’s fairly unbelievable in the “mano y mano” fight scenes, but the direction and execution is just good enough to keep it enjoyable by using the standard cut editing so that we only see snippets of the action. Normally I’d place my cash on the 6 foot 3 inch, 185 pound trained agent when confronting the slight framed Jolie, no matter how well trained she may be, but to see her thrash three guys simultaneously only elicits a comment of “Oh, come ON!” from anyone expecting more. So for this one it is best to just sit back, chomp on your popcorn, and enjoy the show for what it is: just entertainment!
But most improbably of all, the ending of the movie pre-supposes that prospective fans might want to see more of Evelyn Salt when it leaves us with just one more ridiculous scene as Jolie jumps out of a helicopter, escaping the clutches of the CIA and the FBI, at least a thousand feet over the Potomac River and swimming to safety. Will she return to mete justice to her Soviet handlers? Will anybody really care? My guess is NO! Although good for a summer diversion the promotion going into “SALT” far outstripped the movie’s ability to deliver a star vehicle for Angelina, but WILL ensure a brisk DVD rental in a few months.
For strictly entertainment value I’ll give “SALT”
