Review of Salt (2010) by Scunning — 18 Aug 2010

If you take one of the Bourne movies as the standard for this genre, or possibly earlier conspiracy/espionage films like Day of the Jackal, then this movie is unable to generate a score that is in the upper half of distribution based on quality. All of the attributes necessary for a great conspiracy film - convincing storyline, protagonist with whom to strongly identify, technically amazing yet believable plotting, and energizing action - is missing in this film. Weak characterization, a failure to convincingly make the plot believable, and kind of soulless action in a lot of places. I had to really concentrate to stay engaged, but never was able to. The movie simply doesn't lift the viewer up into the action and story, and I think it is because the nature of the story - an implausible cold war/terrorist cell strategy to destroy the US - isn't all that great. Plus, the movie feels like an origin story - we are basically given a story that will justify 2 more movies later. We learn why Angelina Jolie will ultimately work alone, why she cannot trust anyone except one person in government, and so on. In that sense, maybe the payoff will come in later installments, but this one was a disappointment.

What keeps the movie from being a total failure is the brilliant casting. Angelina Jolie, despite looking like thin and emaciated to the point that it harms the story's concept, is perfect. She is beautiful, as always, and has a slightly more Eastern European vibe that is hard to pinpoint but which was great. Her fighting choreographer appears to have made the conscious choice to compensate for her thin frame by having her use objects and closed in spaces to her advantage. Several times she can be seen pushing off from walls before kicking or fighting someone to gain more force, presumably, and in that sense the movie improves upon what would otherwise have been asking too much suspension of disbelief. When you see her leap from a wall into a guard, knocking him unconscious, somehow it seems possible - particularly if you're like me and really don't know much about martial arts and fighting. Liev Schreiber, though, was fantastic. The way he stares at someone is creepy. He also seems like a big man - tall and muscular - which fits his role here as a CIA agent perfectly. He is quiet and reserved in his scenes, but still brings intensity to the action, such as in chase scenes where he comes across as deliberate and calculating. All of the actors are, in fact, fantastic in this film, and if not for them and the direction, the film would be a total mess. But because of them, it lifts it up to what I generously score a 5. For me a 5, in this genre, means that if you are on business travel in your hotel room, and it's late, and the movie comes on, then you should watch it.