Salt Deluxe Unrated Edition Bluray

Posted In: Inception

Lamont Parkes says...

SALT



PG-13: Action Violence, Some Language



Two years ago, Evelyn Salt was in North Korea. She was imprisoned as a spy, which she vehemently denied. Then she was released....



Jump ahead to the present (actually one year from now). Salt is leaving work for an anniversary dinner when a man shows up and tells a story. He claims that Evelyn Salt is a Russian spy, and Salt immediately goes into "I'm being set up" mode.



After a high-speed chase with Salt rolling off a bridge, leaping from one truck to another, and taking off on a motorcycle, we can only hope that more story will be told...and that this will not be the end of the action.



The story lacks character and plot development, but there is enough to keep the audience's attention. Most people will figure out the truth in a half hour.



So what saves this movie from being a total flop?



The action is excellent. Only one scene is noticeably CGI, but I did not care as much as I usually do. And the violence is reeled in from going overboard as most "live action comic books" do.



"Salt" is not based on anything that I know of. I was hoping for a novel, but I have not found one. My "comic book" comment is based on how the story is told...and this is not a bad thing (at least in this case).



And even though the story is lacking, the movie leaves you wanting a sequel--you care enough about this character that you hope part two will give her better focus.



Action Sequences: 5 Stars

Story Development: 1 Star

Acting:3 Stars (I do not know how they pulled this off, but they did.)

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Posted on February 16, 2011

Tomeka Lamonte says...

This was a great movie!Almost non-stop action--car chases, run from the CIA, lots of shooting and fighting, and a few twists and turns.



Evelyn Salt is a CIA intelligence officer.She is married to a German National who has easy access to move freely, in and out of Korea.She is about to go home to celebrate her wedding anniversary when a Russian defector shows up at the office, telling a story.He says he is dying of cancer and has nothing to lose.He explains that many years ago, the Russians developed a plot to ruin America, the "KA" program ("kill America", I guess).They trained many, many children and then substituted them into American life as "sleepers", to participate in a well-orchestrated plot at a much later time.When the time is right, these children would be activated.The one assigned to kill the Russian president was Evelyn Salt!



As Evelyn is interrogating the defector, the other agents are running a body scan on him which indicates he is telling the truth.Uh oh.They begin to look at Evelyn a little differently.Meanwhile, she is concerned about her husband's safety and takes off to find him.This begins Evelyn's chase and a ton of action.



Is "our" Evelyn Salt really Agent Chenkov?Or is someone setting her up?Watch and see.I think you will really enjoy this movie if you like action.



BTW--Yes, there is a lot of BS in the chase scenes, where Evelyn would likely have been killed in real life many times over, BUT, that's what makes a movie fun!They get up and keep on going--they are the ONE person in the whole world who could survive or could achieve something.Get real--that's what you go to see--the so-called impossible stuff! Angelina does a great job in this high-action flick!

Posted on February 17, 2011

Nadene Kerk says...

Now this is what I'm talking about. Phillip Noyce's "Salt" is my type of summer movie. First and foremost "Salt" is an action film and it succeeds with flying colors in that regard. But what I really admired about this picture is that it took place in reality. The action was grounded in physics and therefore made it messy, mean and hard hitting. Then we have bon-a-fied movie superstar Angelina Jolie in her best action performance. Where "Salt" also succeeds stupendously is with Evelyn Salt's characterization, which is complex, dualistic, fascinating and ultimately enigmatic. Jolie thrives in this role which plays to literally every one of her strengths as an actress. You root for her and sympathize with her even though it's never clear what side Evelyn truly falls into. It's in this intense dynamic between plot, character and action that leaves "Salt" head and shoulders over films like "Eclipse", "Clash of the Titans", "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" and yes, even "Inception". But also on a side note it's just plain refreshing to see a film that has Russians trying to take down America, crisp and clean action cinematography and a true movie star like Jolie leading things along. This is classic summer filmmaking at it's finest.

Posted on February 17, 2011

Samuel Montante says...

When a story is written about a double agent, a mole or a sleeper agent, any number of cards can play. As a result, the suspence and tension levels immediately go up qute a few notches.



This movie is about Evelyn Salt (Jolie); and to a much lesser extent her husband, who is German and studies spiders.



The story starts 2 years ago in Korea where Salt is being tortured, from there it is fast forwarded to where she meets a soviet agent, who is trying to activate her.



Apparently, Salt's father was a powerful wrestler and her mother a chessmaster. Hence she has inherited her fighting skills and strategic capabilities from them.



In this film, Salt is more resourceful than MacGyver, can escape lockdowns better than David Copperfield and can jump moving vehicles better than Morpheus (in Matrix 2). That being said, you can expect to be treated to a lot of high speed chases, gut wrenching escapes, and several tight plot twists.



This film is guaranteed to have you riveted to your seat from start to finish. Enjoy!

Posted on February 18, 2011

Alta Valliant says...

One thing you can count on: When Angelina Jolie does an action movie, you know you're going to get action and plenty of it.The action in "Salt" is so non-stop, so relentless, so slam-bang-in-your-face, that the film moves at warp speed and it's over almost before you realize it.That the plot is patently ridiculous somehow doesn't seem to matter very much.This movie is meant to be pure fun, and on that score, it delivers.



Jolie plays Evelyn Salt (it's interesting that this role was originally written for a male actor, but Jolie proves she is more than able to handle it), a CIA operative married to a German scientist who specializes in all kinds of deadly spiders, who managed to get her out of a North Korean prison where she is being gruesomely tortured as the film opens.But it turns out she may or may not be a Russian sleeper agent who is scheduled to go into action as soon as some very nasty stuff hits the fan; specifically, the assassinations of both the Russian and American presidents, and the detonation of a nuclear bomb or two.



Salt's cover is blown (maybe) and she protests she was set up, but since nobody believes her, she's off and running in some really exciting chase sequences.Jolie actually did some of her own stunts in this movie, although not the more dangerous ones such as jumping from the top of one speeding truck to another.The real fun in this film comes from the fact that we can't really tell who Salt is.Is she an American agent, or Russian, or Russian pretending to be American, or American pretending to be Russian?By the end of the film we still don't know, but we know one thing: the way this film ends, a sequel is probably already on the storyboards.



All of the actors give creditable performances, but Jolie's performance is what really makes you want to see this film more than once.Tabloid gossip aside, she's a damn good actress, and she totally throws herself into this movie, literally and figuratively.Tune in next summer (hopefully) for the next exciting episode.



Judy Lind

Posted on February 18, 2011

Ami Porowski says...

Angelina Jolie's acting has often been overshadowed by her marriage. Anyone who has viewed Changeling or Girl, interrupted, has obviously witnessed her great range in different and equally challenging roles. However, at the end of the day, she and her husband are viewed as mere celebrities-not different than reality stars-than serious actors. She has long affirmed her place among the great actresses of the last decade, but her public persona has often overshadowed her career. Salt is proof that even in the Hollywood blockbuster, she is as versatile as one can be.



In the beginning of the film, we view CIA agent Evelyn Salt, played by Jolie, being tortured by North Korean authorities. Due to a miraculous trade between the Americans and North Koreans, she is freed to return home. Not long after her arrival in her country, she comes in contact with a Russian defector who informs of a deadly operation named "Day: X." Planned since the onset of the Cold War, the execution of this plan will mean the end of the United States. Possibly indicative of its execution is his testament that the Russian President will die at the funeral of the American Vice-President. Salt is a throwback to those classic films, notably The Manchurian Candidate, which focused on the conflicts and animosity between the two countries. This film may seem quite dated, as the cold war and the most notable of the two nation's conflicts seems to have ended, but it focuses on current times and events, implicating that the animosity of many Russians have yet to end. They are still training operatives, from childhood, and releasing them within the United States and awaiting the best time to take action.



Fortunately, this "Day: X" does not seem to be under the control of the Russian authorities, but old men of the Cold War era who want to put an end to the US. As politically correct as possible, the film avoids introducing the motives behind "Day: X." Is this a war against democracy, the current US president, or generally do these men enjoy seeing this superpower feel threatened for a change? Such claims are never addressed, keeping the film quite light in ideology and philosophy. For the sake of argument, let's suppose the mastermind of the plan simply hates all that is American about the US and needs to wipe this country of the map to rest easily. The film is Hollywood entertainment that simply wants to suppose that America has enemies for some very vague and unknown reasons, despite its efforts to spread "peace" across the globe.



The film will invariably will be compared to the Manchurian Candidate for its countless twists. That classic film is obviously of enormous social and historical importance, but both are fascinatingly deceptive in toying around with the audience's perception of the main characters. For some time, Salt shows infinite amount of courage in alienating its American audience by showcasing the success of the Russians in causing havoc in the United States; some may even see parts of the film, before the major revelation as hugely anti-American. Seeing this in a packed theater, I did sense some anger or tension from fellow viewers. It was the unbelievable sense of betrayal from a film that took pleasure in lambasting and lampooning the secret service, or the ease by which the Russians were able to overcome all the security barriers and harm such powerful diplomats. Of course, Hollywood would never want to cause a stir by showing an incident that may mirror 9/11, and display a more wide scale target and tragedy. No, that would be thoughtful and somewhat depressive, and studios have a strong disdain for portraying the foreseeable, yet unfortunate, future-they would rather fill our heads with countless post apocalyptic junk. Sure, the film eventually loses its fire in relation to its intriguing post-cold war analysis of the relation between these two nations, but for a blockbuster even such an attempt is admirable. Salt does not have an actual agenda in regards to the relations of Russia and US at present, but it cleverly uses the elements of the old cold war films, many which were propaganda products, to tell its tale. If the film actually had been faithful to its vision, it would have initiated an abundant amount of controversy for this film; controversy that really would not aid the film in any shape or form.



The real loser, overall, is Tom Cruise who lost the role to Jolie-as it was later rewritten for her. Choosing Jolie was a wise move, considering that a female character more successfully balances out the tension and anger of the media and the appreciation of her Russian comrades. A female character can convey better her loyalty and betrayal for each side, without seeming as sinister and excessively callous. Jolie really deserves more challenging role, such as those which Kate Winslet seems to always attain, but she still gives a dedicated performance. It is quite bewildering that we feel sorry for her misfortunes, but later grow to dislike her as her true colors begin to show. She picks exactly the right tone for her performance, caring, emotional, and superficially honest. Jolie brings the unexpected masculinity to the film that is quite unexpected of her. Such films are often reserved for butch male actors, and often bodybuilders, such as Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Jean Claude Van Damme, but Jolie proves that actresses can bring much needed likeability and vulnerability to the role. Salt eventually lags near the ending-in regards to the realism of its Russian-US relations and the outcome of Evelyn's crimes and their belated revelation-but considering its conception as a Hollywood blockbuster, it is surprisingly fresh and a winner.

Posted on February 20, 2011

Kerstin Waits says...

Angelina at her Best!!!I am sure she can go into retirement with proceeds from this film!This is action at its best.I have never seen anything like this in all my life.Just writing this review is giving me goose pimples.Angelina Girl you have out done yourself!!!!

Posted on February 21, 2011

Lovie Yemchuk says...

This is a really well done action flick worth viewing. Here's what's good with it:



1. It's full of non-stop action that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The stunts and fight scenes are really exciting.



2. The story has twisty turns and it keeps you thinking. There's no boredom here, and I felt the plot was close enough to being plausible to keep you interested. Even if the exact program of placing trained children into America isn't complete realism, we all know that there are spies living as Americans in this country. Just watch the news. It's a current and relevant theme.



3. The acting is excellent, and the characters, especially Angelina Jolie, show depth. You can't help caring about what happens to Salt.



While I agree with another reviewer who said that Salt's husband isn't shown a lot, I felt he was shown enough to reveal that Salt really loved him. That was what the audience needed to know in order to understand her motives, and to care about whether he lived or died.



I'd definitely recommend seeing this movie, and it's one I'd own as well.

Posted on February 21, 2011

Coleen Simonian says...

If you've read the other reviews you know the basic plot.I just want to add that Angelina Jolie does an excellent job pulling off the action as does an equally fantastic job with the acting.



This movie is great fun and you care about the characters in this movie -- even the minor characters like Salt's husband.



Plus, the movie has some great twists and will keep you guessing until the end of the movie.The movie ties up all loose ends at the end.As a footnote, when I saw this movie in the theater, the audience applauded at the end.



I highly recommend seeing this movie! :)

Posted on February 23, 2011

Mauro Mcclintic says...

I really enjoyed this movie, very action packed.I felt like Angelina's acting was some of the best she has done to date.I would go see it again!

Posted on February 26, 2011