Salt

Maybe if the Bourne movies didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have found Salt so hilarious at times. But that is the only thing I could think of; Salt is a dumber cousin of the Bourne franchise. Then again Angelina Jolie action star will always work in a pinch.

I love me a plot where shady Russians attack the United States. Does Salt’s story make sense, eh, not so much but it was fun for a couple hours. If I’m remembering correctly, there are dozens of Russian sleeper agents throughout the American government some going so far as to be in the highest places of power. Now wait a second … if you are able to reach the highest levels of the CIA and or Army through legit means of career advancement, why is there a need for some sort of doomsday plan? Just use your power to influence American policy and actions to reach the ends you are looking for. And I’ve now thought about this plot way too much.

Now that I’ve hurt myself thinking about Salt’s plot, let’s move on to Angelina Jolie doing what she does best. Looking good while running around and beating the shit out of people. And that is what she did for 2 hours here. There was the ridiculous, to the crazy ridiculous, to the are you freaking kidding me ridiculous. By this point, it is impossible for me to complain that a single person can outsmart, outfight, and just generally embarrass every American agency. Fine. Then when Jolie dresses up and puts make-up on and becomes a passable effeminate man that was at least something new. But the middle action sequence where she is literally hopping from roof to roof of speeding trucks at a superhighway interchange was a just a few steps too far, I just don’t buy it and it made me laugh. One of the reasons why Jolie the superheroine didn’t kill the movie for me was because the other two main actors were Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor. That is the type of casting that will always get me on your side. Both of them deliver their usual top-notch performance, although Liev acting shady is becoming a bit too obvious.

Still, I’d see a Salt 2 or Salt and Pepper or Salt-Free or whatever. I like action movies and this was your basic summer action movie.

7 out of 10