Salt
Phillip Noyce | USA | 2010
99 min
Angelina Jolie teams up with Philip Noyce 11 years after their first film together The Bone Collector (probably the film to blame for all those CSI shows), and I can comfortably say that it is a rather successful reunion. Noyce, the son of an Australian WWII era spy himself, has always been fascinated by the world of espionage and the stories he heard from his father. This influenced his artistic choices and so far he has made several good films in the spy genre. He directed two very successful adaptations of Tom Clancy’s novels with Harrison Ford playing CIA agent Jack Ryan: 1992′s Patriot Games and 1994′s Clear and Present Danger. He also made the highly acclaimed The Quiet American in 2002.
Back to Salt, and mind you, the film doesn’t quite work because it has a tightly-wound script and because it can be difficult to buy into the ridiculous plot. The plot holes are too big that an elephant would fall through them. Also, the final reveal about the secret villain is plain stupid, unoriginal, and indicates laziness on the part of the writer, not to mention how obvious it is. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean obvious in a way that makes sense, I mean obvious that any lazy writer would resort to it as a cheap shock for the audience rather than think of something more original. That made the final act rather weak and uninteresting comparing to the build up before it. These things I have mentioned are what’s keeping Salt from achieving greatness in my eyes, and they are major problems.
Now that we are done with what is bad about the film, let’s talk about what is so good about it (and I’ll save the best for last). First of all, the film is fast-paced and it never seizes to thrill or entertain — the entire film, save for the first 15 or 20 min, is a continuous chase, and I mean non-stop. There is no fat to trim at all in this 99 min film; this is to the credit of the seasoned director and his editors. Secondly, the action scenes are just breathtaking and I will mention three: the first one is the breakout scene after Salt is accused of being spy. It is very intense and from it we start to appreciate how skilled this woman is. The second one, which is probably one of the most refreshing car chases I have seen in a while, involves Salt running away jumping over trucks in the highway. What was great about it is that it was done old school with stunts and not cheap CGI; even though it is preposterously unrealistic, it is kickass and a joy to watch. The third one that I want to mention is her breaking into a heavily guarded, and I mean HEAVILY guarded, church, and I won’t spoil anymore except that it involves the most awesome hole-in-the-floor!
There is also the love story between Salt and her husband, mostly in flashbacks, and you believe it to be so integral, not only to buy into the plot and motivations, but also, because it is so important to read into the psyche of Salt and for answering the film’s ultimate question “Who is Salt?”. Fortunately the love story is well flushed out and interweaved into the rest of the film, and it is one of the strongest elements, if not the strongest.
One more thing that I would credit to the film is Salt’s identity and her allegiance — it is really not that hard to figure out who Salt was, but the thing that the film cleverly kept from us is who is Salt now, and the question that the ending left us with is who is Salt becoming. The ever shifting mystery about Salt makes for fascinating viewing and interesting storytelling.
All that and I didn’t mention the best thing about the film, one Ms. Angelina Jolie. If you thought Mat Damon was great as Jason Bourne, think again. This girl is one of the greatest action figures of all time. And you know why? Because she embodies the character she plays here and you believe one hundred percent that she is indeed Evelyn Salt not superstar Angelina Jolie. The angst, the love, the vulnerability, the rage, and every possible human emotion involved is dug deep in her face and her voice, and if an action hero in a summer action blockbuster films get Oscars, I say they should hand it to her right now and get it over with; she was that good. The scene of her final wrath is so intense and brutal, and what made the execution of it 10 times more effective is the expression and the shriek she makes while she is doing it. Hats off to you Ms. Jolie, you deserve every last penny they are paying you, and all the acclaim.
The film is left open-ended, possibly for a sequel, and this would be one sequel that not only will not mind, but would really welcome! Because Evelyn Salt is one tough cookie that I would like to meet again, on screen of course.