Not so long ago, rumors floated around that Hollywood execs were no longer interested in action films starring female protagonists. This was in response to the box office failures of films like Catwoman, Elektra, and Ultraviolet. I’d wager the suckiness of those pictures had more to do with the lousy scripts than the gender of their stars.
Salt looks to buck the trend casting Angelina Jolie as the title character. Ironically, the film was originally conceived with a male protagonist. Tom Cruise was initially attached before dropping out to star in the abysmal Knight and Day.
Jolie plays CIA agent Evelyn Salt. The name seems to have chosen so critics could come up with headlines like, “Jolie worth her salt” or “Needs more salt.” Anyways, the picture begins with Salt being tortured in North Korea after her cover is blown. She is eventually freed and exchanged for another agent partly due to efforts from future husband Mike Krause (August Diehl), an etymologist specializing in spiders.
2 years later, Salt and her handler, Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), interrogate a Russian defector named Vassily Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski). Orlov claims to have trained sleeper agents from childhood to infiltrate the United States. Apparently, one agent has been activated and charged with assassinating the Russian President. That agent…Evelyn Salt. On the run, she looks to clear her name and find her missing husband. If she’s the Fugitive, then Chiwetel Ejiofor from Serenity is Tommy Lee Jones.
Salt plays like a fast and loose version of The Bourne Identity with the plot existing only to service a string of action sequences. Not surprising since the script was written by purveyor of schlock, Kurt Wimmer, who also wrote and directed Equilibrium and the aforementioned Ultraviolet. The plot is thin, predictable, and lacking any real suspense. Wimmer dusts off the Russians as the film’s primary villains. While it may seem outdated, recent headlines have shown that the Soviets have been using hot women to spy on America.
The largely implausible action sequences are well done with Jolie bouncing off bridges and the rooftops of semi-trucks. She jury rigs a bazooka out of a fire extinguisher and blocks a security camera with her panties. Salt marks the welcome return of Phillip Noyce to the genre, Noyce previously directed Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, the latter featured an excellent shootout, before moving onto politically charged dramas such as, The Quiet American and Catch a Fire.
Jolie is instantly credible as an action heroine. Salt is a better display of her talents than Tomb Raider or Wanted though it’s no less silly.
Rating: **
No comments:
Post a Comment