Salt

There is no doubt that the real – and in some ways only – star of Salt is Jolie, who maintains a non-stop magnetic sense of energy (your eyes almost feel a sense of longing the few seconds she’s not on screen). One can only be grateful to the writers who made the decision to turn what was originally the title character of Edwin Salt, offered to Tom Cruise, into Evelyn Salt, a kick-ass heroine who in recent years may only be outdone by Lisbeth Salander of the Millennium Trilogy franchise. A male protagonist would have just turned Salt into yet another action flick; this way Jolie brings her effortless sex appeal and a vastly more interesting “woman in a man’s world” angle.

One thing the film shows is that the Cold War, though never an actual war, still hasn’t lost ammunition when it comes to Hollywood. Some may criticise the film for relying on outdated conflicts which belong more in a Bond film from the 70s, yet there was something tremendously enjoyable about the simplicity and familiarity of it all. I won’t lie; at times the plot did tread recklessly into the realm of the ridiculous, particularly towards the end (apparently, all it takes is a fake NATO I.D. to walk into the White House with a bomb strapped to your chest). And though the communist elements of the film are intriguing, they may not have been that accurate; my mother, a one-time USSR resident, assures me the practices the film alludes to were present in Stalin’s era rather than the late ‘80s, as Salt seems to imply.

Nevertheless, the film’s strengths (beyond Jolie) do extend to its consistent action sequences and creative stunts, making the 100 minute running time fly by. It’s left open-ended to allow for an abundance of sequels if the box office produces desirable enough results (which, at time of publishing, is approaching $200 million worldwide) and, at the end of the day, Salt is an adrenaline-pumping summer movie. What more can you ask for in late August?

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