Salt ? it's the stuff of legends. It's that thing you put on chips. That substance your doctor tells you not to have too much of. You can even occasionally find it in quaint blue sachet, nestled between your crisps. Angelina Jolie has a lot to live up to.
Jumping into her latest action-heroine role, Jolie proves that she still remains queen in that regard. A sultry look, a tight-fitting outfit and a slap round the chops have all become second nature to ol? Angie. However, what also remains a frustrating constant is her choice of projects.
She's yet to find real ground in the action genre. Each role she picks just falling short of excelling, neither becoming iconic or even particularly memorable. Salt is no different. The Salt of the title is Vivian, a CIA agent who is ousted as a Russian spy, setting the film on a cat-and-mouse chase that's nothing if not intriguing.
Clearly knowing her colleagues probing practices, she decides it's best to make a run for it, proving her innocence on the go and presumably looking for the one-armed man while she's at it. There's plenty of espionage on show, with Salt altering her appearance as often as Simon Cowell whitens his teeth.
This is a game of intrigue; forcing attention as the plot twists and turns and demanding concentration more than its excitable gaggle of horny youngsters are destined to give it. It fills the blanks between the action with either implausible revelations, or uncomfortable flashbacks between Salt and her German husband.
However, this is an action film first and foremost, and in that regard it delivers. While director Phillip Noyce has managed to ground his thrillers firmly in realism, he throws logic out of the window with Salt, crafting some genuinely thrilling sequences of violence, explosions and things all-round bang. Jolie?s nimble frame manages to kick various arses that are several sizes bigger than her but there's still no denying the wonder of watching Angelina?s command over set-pieces.
So mesmerising are Salt?s actions that it leaves the supporting cast with little to do but gawp at her expertise. Enemies of spell-check, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor, both quality character actors in their own right, are left with little to do but partake in the odd verbal exchange. It's a shame to have such a talented cast be used for little more than paperweights. But this is the Angelina show and she delivers, even if it just falls short of Bourne and Bond.
Salt is an enjoyable lark, even beyond the ludicrously of the whole film, it remains a cut-above Hollywood?s action output, injecting some emotion and intelligence into what could have easily been a bland thriller. Also, the Blu-ray features a couple of extra versions of the film, with the extended cut boasting an interesting alternate ending, which rounds off a nice package of extras.
While Salt still isn't the iconic role that Jolie has been searching for it still proves that Angelina is the queen of the genre. And when it comes to salt, who wouldn't mind sprinkling a bit of her on yer fish ?n? chips, eh? Eh? Grrrr, lad?s noises, etc.
?spray Rating: 3.5/5
And as an added bonus, have a lovely Salt-related video to watch. Salt is available on Blu-ray and DVD now.
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eva.public says
Angelina is a beautiful woman, in her own way, but I think that she is prettier with the brunette hair. Maybe I’m used with her hair color and that is why I think that the blond hair doesn’t fits her that well. What do you think?
m66m says
jolie’s definitely lost her cuteness . no more does her aging face work lockstep with those luscious lips. merely pretty now.