If I did believe you, and I'm not saying for a second that I do, but if I did, nobody else would.
Relentless, mysterious and one hell of a puzzle, SALT defines "non-stop action thriller".
Director Philip Noyce is the man behind "Clear and Present Danger", "Patriot Games" and "Dead Calm". He brings that same propulsive sense of intrigue to this tale of CIA agent Evelyn Salt. When new Russian defector Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) casually reveals that she is actually an imbedded Russian spy intent on assassination, Salt (Angelina Jolie) breaks into action, escaping from CIA headquarters in just the first of many fast paced action scenes.
Her boss Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber from "Spotlight" and "The Sum of All Fears") is startled. Is she escaping to prove herself innocent or complete her mission?
The target of the assassination attempt is The President of Russia, in the USA for the funeral of our own VP.
Like "The Day of the Jackal" on speed, the film tracks Salt as she juggles Mike, the husband she loves who is suddenly in everyone's crosshairs, Peabody, (Chiwetel Ejiofor of "American Gangster") the one senior American agent who seems to be hottest on her trail, and a never ending lineup of agencies right behind her.
I loved WInter's complete devotion to not believing she's a mole or a long time, embedded double agent. As the evidence begins to mount and the casualties pile up in her wake, he begins to have doubts.
SALT has it all.
Thrilling car chases with Jolie doing a lot of her own stunts and putting Tom Cruise to shame in the "jumping from vehicle to vehicle" department? Check.
Assaults on our President with Secret Service agents frantically moving him into never before seen bunkers? Check.
Double crosses and surprise twists you never see coming? Check.
One of the best chases through a subway and train since "The French Connection"? Checkmate.
Set to a great score by James Newton Howard (Signs, The Dark Knight, King Kong) and shot by the legendary Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, Tomorrow Never Dies), this is an action flick with class.
Jolie is excellent from start to finish, believable in every dramatic confrontation AND fight scene. Danging off bridges and leaping from every kind of transportation you can think of, she's a blast.
SALT kept me guessing through its final scene, earning a memorable A.
WHO IS SALT? I didn't know until the final moments.
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