Salt was originally written with the intention of becoming an espionage action-thriller with Tom Cruise as the lead. However, when Cruise backed out of the production… Jolie substituted the big name Mission: Impossible star and the script was rewritten for a female lead. Salt’s loosely modeled on the Bourne series with short, sharp bursts of action and a rogue agent on the loose.

This is your typical (wo)man-on-the-run actioner with a hot pursuit from government authorities in an attempt to dispatch the “traitor” with as little collateral damage as possible with one really big twist… it’s a lady spy. Don’t get me wrong, The Last Kiss Goodnight made Samuel L. Jackson look like the damsel in distress… but why can’t we just leave the kick-ass espionage to real-life characters like James Bond and Jason Bourne? “Who is Salt?” is this movie’s tag line… yet somehow “Pass the Salt.” may have been more fitting. Sorry Angie, better give it a rub.

Catch the rest of the review and the trailer after the jump…

There are very few Hollywood female leads who can pull the role off convincingly. Thankfully, Angelina Jolie can… she’s sexy, beautiful, sleek and designed for speed and strength, which is exactly why she was cast as Tomb Raider. However, this is no Tomb Raider… Jolie has slimmed down, a little too much some would say. Her death-defying stunts seem a little impossible with such a slight frame, yet it’s reported that she did do most of her own stunt work. You’d imagine she’d use the wind to better effect given her physique, with her jumping from truck-to-truck in rush hour traffic. Her on-foot escapes even look a little awkward, more so than Keanu Reeves, and makes the spy role difficult to believe at times, even when she dresses up to look like a pretty Russian man.

It’s the sort of film and role we’ve become accustomed to seeing Ukranian-born Milla Jovovich in and frankly it was probably written with her in mind considering how little talking and acting was required. Jovovich has worked on similar lead female roles such as the successful Resident Evil video game adaptation franchise and the box office flop Ultraviolet, the latter being a collaboration with Salt writer, Kurt Wimmer. However, the job landed in Jolie’s lap with Phillip Noyce in the director’s chair after the Salt production was attached to several other directors, including Michael Mann.

The two worked together in The Bone Collector, while Noyce brought his film experience from Harrison Ford vehicles: Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger to the table. On paper, this combo presented a pretty lethal synergy waiting to happen… and in eventuality a fairly formulaic, predictable and ordinary actioner match-up ensued. It’s not horrible, it’s just nothing special… in the same league as other middle range action-thrillers like Murder at 1600, Naked Weapon 2 and Die Another Day in terms of story, action intensity and overall appeal.

“Salt… shaken, not stirred.”

Angelina Jolie’s sex appeal is subdued in Salt, despite reinventing her character’s image three times. It has nothing on Tomb Raider for skin, but she’s still easy-on-the-eye even dressed as a Russian toy soldier with a few K.D. Lang albums. One thing Salt does well is keeping you guessing until the final scene with the evolving mystery of who Evelyn Salt really is… defector or wrongfully accused special agent. This keeps the story alive without leaning too heavily on Jolie’s acting or action abilities, keeping everything fresh, upbeat and entertaining.

If you’re a fan of the (wo)man-on-the-run action-thriller genre or Angelina Jolie for that matter, you won’t be disappointed. Salt cheekily leaves on an open-ended note, making room for a follow-up sequel. Essentially it’s a poor man’s Bourne Identity, which may explain why Tom Cruise declined the role. Who wants to be a rip-off of James Bond or Jason Bourne and besides Cruise has already got Mission: Impossible to look after.

Female leads usually do best in action-thrillers when there’s a strong emphasis on sex appeal or violence. Salt lacks on both counts – diminishing the return on the action and thrills. Quality supporting actors, Liev Schreiber and Ejiofor Chiwetel have been brought in as Tommy Lee Jones type bloodhounds, but unfortunately don’t get much in terms of screen time or chew toys for that matter.

Make Salt your back-up plan for movie night. Watch it for the exciting action set pieces, the quick pacing and the rousing soundtrack. Salt is definitely one movie you need to watch on the big screen, which is why you probably shouldn’t wait for it to come to DVD. The story is almost implausible and ridiculous, even for its genre, but let’s face it – popcorn just isn’t the same without a little Salt.

The bottom line: Entertaining.

Release Date: 3 September, 2010

Watch ‘Salt’ Movie Trailer

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