Salt

While I was expecting a little more sophistication in the plot department I realized that such a thing couldn't happen when US versus Russia is at play. (To my knowledge the Cold War is over and the spy business has become more complicated than ever. This oversimplification of old enemies and their wars is too much.) The plot is all over the place and realism is thrown out of the door. There are too many things happening in the movie that are too convenient and even impossible. Still it didn't keep me from enjoying this movie. It even managed to thrill me at occasions even if I was aware that most of the plot was nonsense. Jolie does an excellent job as the action heroine. The action is that makes this movie tick and that is almost the only thing that should count in a movie like this.Ignore the bashing and trashing of Jolie. This is pure entertainment!

While I can't say that I was awaiting Angelina Jolie's latest outing with bated breath, I was intrigued by the fact that Salt was originally intended to be a Tom Cruise vehicle.

Tom's waning box office pulling-power aside, this sex-swap was a smart move by writer Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) as it gives Jolie the chance to prove that she can lay the smack-down on just as many henchmen as the boys can. Having her rather than him as the duplicitous CIA agent Evelyn Salt, Wimmer gives a fresh angle to a plot that could easily have been a boring instalment of the Bourne series. Salt also sees the welcome return of Russian villains to the cinema after a long period in which Middle Eastern terrorists were severely over-worked.

When a Soviet defector strolls into the CIA and announces that Salt is a sleeper agent who will kill the Russian president, she goes on the run. Fearing for the safety of her husband Michael, Salt sets out to find him before agents Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) catch up with her. The question of where Salt's loyalties lie is the true source of tension and Jolie plays it cool, gaining and dismissing the audience's trust several times over.

Schreiber and Ejiofor draw the short straws in terms of dialogue and simply run after Jolie for the entire movie without doing anything of significance. Hopefully, if the proposed sequel goes ahead, Wimmer will be able to correct this glaring oversight.

The action scenes are sharply directed and Jolie finally gets her hands dirty, particularly in the opening exchanges where she's being tortured in a Korean prison. If that wasn't enough, she also flies down an elevator shaft by leaping from wall to wall – it was a silly effect but added a cheesy, fanciful element to what would have been an entirely too serious movie.

Consequently the first 40 minutes are fast and furious as Salt evades her fellow agents by any means necessary but not to be outdone, the rest of the film takes a left turn and continues to surprise with some serious fisticuffs, gun-play and high-speed car chases. Admittedly, for all its skill and enthusiasm, Salt's finale is a little over-the-top and it wanders into well-worn ground without knowing when to stop. Aside from this minor gripe, Salt is a well-directed action movie that delivers us a potential new franchise, an intriguing lead character and an exciting close to a lacklustre summer.

Many reviewers here have stated that this movie isn't realistic because 'Salt doesn't get bruised enough' or 'no one her size could...' Have these people ever been to an action movie before? NO ACTION MOVIE IS REALISTIC. They are all written to be over-the-top because that's what makes them entertaining. We suspend disbelief to enter the world of the action-hero (or heroine) and we go along for the thrilling ride that is sometimes so over-the-top it's ridiculous! But that's what makes it fun. If action movies were realistic, they would be slow and boring. This movie does not cross the line anymore than any other action movie.

Salt delivers exactly what is promised -- a solid 100 minutes of action. It keeps you watching, it keeps you guessing (even when it turns out you were right in some cases), and it entertains from start to finish. If you like the action movie genre, chances are you will enjoy this movie.

As for the reviewers who criticized the way Russians are portrayed, the action genre plays to comic book-like caricatures. The villains are no more realistic than the heroine! This isn't a documentary!

If you like action movies, give Salt a go. Angelina won't disappoint.

When Angelina Jolie makes her appearance on screen, chances are most people are interested in seeing in nothing but her kicking some major ass. And for those who relished in a good time of shoving popcorn in their mouth while watching her go gun-blazing in the action thriller 'Wanted' back in 2008, this one makes a sound, if slightly lesser option. This spy action thriller, helmed from director Phillip Noyce who brought his work to the screen with two Jack Ryan adaptations 'Patriot Games' and 'Clear and Present Danger', is just another one of your average trips to the land of Angelina Jolie wielding her action skills against the baddies as she fights her way through the sporadic blemishes in the script written by Kurt Wimmer. Unlike 'Wanted', this flick proceeds with a slightly more political agenda at hand, primarily the corruption uprooted from Russia since the beginning of their fallout with the United States during the Cold War. This film focuses on Evelyn Salt (played by Angelina Jolie), a CIA operative who is a living a peaceful life with her German boyfriend Michael Krause (played by August Diehl) and being held as one of the most respectable agents at her job. Her life comes crashing down when she is accused by a captured Russian agent Orlov (played by Daniel Olbrychski) of being a Russian sleeper agent with a plan to assassinate the President of the United States. With the law enforcement along with Agent Peabody (played by Chiwetel Eijiofor) pursuing her and her boss Ted Winter (played by Liev Schieber) the only one who fully trusts her, Salt must set out on a mission to clear her name.

For a movie set on exhibiting Jolie in her frenetic ass-kicking mode, this one delivers for the most part. Watching the actress step into action with a frenetic gun-blazing, bone-crunching convulsion makes the tasty icing on the cake most action junkies crave for. But those who make the decision of taking the ride seriously fall victim to witnessing the flaws in the film's attempt at establishing a solid political complex. Adding substance to the plot is a political theme involving international corruption and relations between the U.S and Russia which ties knowledge the historical threats of the Soviet Union during the Cold War back in the 50s. It also makes the unfortunate feat of occasionally convoluting the plot, especially when throwing in a few twists and turns that will take audiences by surprise or leave them scratching their heads. Regardless, anyone willing to escape these blemishes are in for a nice treat, and that witnessing Angelina Jolie shoot, punch, and kick were way through the story in a sleek James Bond-style. Tension is kept high and the action falls nothing short of beauty, especially when adding explosions, car crashes, and vehicles slipping to the equation. For what the movie offers, it does enough to meet the appetite of cinema-goers hungry for a blend of sleek action thrills with brainy political subtext to go in the mix.

Salt is an entertaining ride, if somewhat forgettable in terms of cinematic action mayhem. For those craving a sweet kick of action, this makes a fresh choice, though it nothing that reaches the peak of its genre. All that can be said is that fun and thrills is the best thing this movie delivers if nothing more.

I found this thriller to be enjoyable. Lots of action - some of it pretty unbelievable - and some twists in the story. Very well acted on all parts. I really like Jolie much more in these action movies than the dramas she does.