Salt – A Sony Pictures’ Release

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/salt/

DVD Release Date: December 21st, 2010

Rated PG for violence

Running time: 100 minutes

Director’s Cut: 104 minutes

 

Phillip Noyce (dir.)

 

Kurt Wimmer (writer)

 

James Newton Howard (music)

 

Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt

Liev Schreiber as Ted Winter

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peabody

Daniel Olbrychski as Vassily Orlov

 

Our reviews below:

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Salt DVD Review By John C.

*1/2 (out of 4)

“Who is Salt?” is the question asked in the tagline for Salt – a pseudo-political thriller starring Angelina Jolie.  Early on in the film Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is accused of being a Russian spy with a plot to kill the president, and goes on the run from her job at the CIA.  Throughout the film we are left not knowing who to trust, wondering where and when the double-crossing will end.  At a certain point I stopped genuinely caring about who Salt was and just wanted the movie to be over.

 

The biggest problem with the film is that it takes itself dead seriously.  There is no humour in Salt, and any attempts at character development or human emotion fall completely flat.  The plot twists are ridiculous, and the action sequences look cool, but rarely exhilirate as they should.  Angelina Jolie gives it her all and Salt will have it’s fans, but for me, the taste it left was unbelievably bland.

 

The Blu-ray includes theatrical, extended & director’s cuts of the film, commentary with director Phillip Noyce, as well as numerous featurettes.

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Salt DVD Review By Erin V.

*1/2 (out of 4)

Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt.  At the beginning of the movie, a Russian spy tells her she is a Russian spy, so she goes on the run.  Is she on the side of Russia or America, and what’s with the rehashed stereotypical cold war premise anyhow?  So throughout the film, we have Salt running around – we don’t really know which side she’s on until the end (and I won’t spoil it) – doing all kinds of spy action stunts.  But we never really connect to her goal – partially because we aren’t sure of it.  The problem is though, once you know the ending, I don’t think it’s worth seeing a second time.

 

It’s not boring – in the sense that my mind didn’t wander throughout – but it is not engaging either.  I didn’t care about the characters, and the plot of world domination felt like a ‘save the world’ video game rather than a spy movie full of real suspense.  When characters are being shot, stabbed, etc., should we just be watching it blindly?  Where is the human connection to the characters?

 

For those that like blind action films, this satisfies on one level, but it disappoints on so many others.  Personally, while it is interesting to see a female in a lead action role, it would have been nicer if it had actually been a good movie.  I remember reading that the role was originally written for Tom Cruise, but he thought the part was too close to his character of Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible.  Maybe it’s also because it was a lot more fun to be in a film like Knight and Day than Salt.  The twists in that movie were better anyway – and it was a lot more entertaining to watch.

 

Personally, I would rent this one at best, or skip it all together.  There are so many better things to watch.

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Salt DVD Review By Nicole

*1/2 (out of 4)

Who is Salt?  The fact is, I didn’t really care, as none of the characters are really developed.  The movie is nothing but action, but even the action scenes were boring.  Not once did I feel for any of the characters, as for the most part the film lacked suspense.

 

If you’re wondering about the convoluted plot, here is what I can say without spoiling the story.  Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a spy for the CIA.  An evil Russian defector informs Salt that she is a Russian spy, trained as a child in a phony orphanage.  When the president of the United States is threatened with assassination, the question is, who’s side is Salt on?

 

While Angelina Jolie is serviceable in the film, Salt isn’t really worth seeing, except perhaps for a rainy day rental.

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Salt DVD Review By Maureen

** (out of 4)

The Russians are coming!  The Russians are coming!  They’re here!  Salt is an action-packed story about CIA spies and Russian double agents.  The problem is, it’s all action and not much of a story.  The focus of the movie is on Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie).  But is she a legitimate CIA agent, a Russian spy, or both?

 

This really is Angelina Jolie’s movie.  She has moves like a Ninja and can escape from what seems to be the inescapable.  The action scenes are interesting to watch but I never felt much connection to Evelyn Salt’s character.  Jolie fans may want to rent this one if they missed it in theatres.  It will be interesting to see if a sequel is in the works given the ending scene.

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Salt DVD Review By Tony

** (out of 4)

Salt is a nonstop spy thriller with Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent outed by an apparently defecting Russian spymaster as a sleeper agent. Escaping CIA custody, she begins to carry out the mission for which she was trained, to assassinate the Russian president and help other rogue sleeper agents take control of American nuclear weapons to upset the balance of power leading to Russian domination at last. Her CIA partner Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and CIA enforcer Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are on her tail all the way.

 

If you don’t mind a film largely free of human emotion, Salt has enough suspense, decent action scenes and twists to keep you guessing what side Salt (and others) are really on, so it could be worth a rental for a boys’ night out.

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Consensus: Filled with ridiculous twists and no character development, this fast-paced film is all action and no substance.  Angelina Jolie does the best she can in the title role, but Salt ultimately feels bland. *3/4 (Out of 4)