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• Salt is a non-stop action film that suffers from implausible stunts and incredible plot twists

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Salt

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For many of us who are children of the Cold War, spy films dealing with a Russian enemy are ingrained in our psyches; but filmmakers really need to let this dark chapter of our past remain in yesteryear. Director Philip Noyce’s Salt is an exciting, non-stop action film that suffers from not only this Cold War paranoia, but also a heavy dose of Fox’s 24 on the brain, where utterly implausible stunts and incredible plot twists dominate a rather passionless spy adventure.

Angelina Jolie is CIA operative Evelyn Salt, who we initially meet being tortured by North Korean soldiers before getting swapped on a cloud shrouded bridge in the DMZ. Flash forward two years and Salt is about to celebrate her wedding anniversary when she is requested to interrogate a Russian defector who claims to reveal the plot to kill the Russian president upon his upcoming visit to the US.

The assassin is connected to a sleeper cell of terrorists planted in the US by the KGB and this will lead to something called “Day-X” and an all out seizure of the US nuclear arsenal. While screenwriter Kurt Wimmer begins with this somewhat intriguing premise, referencing plot variations of classic 1960s Cold War thrillers The Manchurian Candidate and Dr. Strangelove, but the central focus of the plot evolves into one long chase as Evelyn is accused and revealed as the probable CIA mole who is connected to the old Soviet scheme. She must either escape being captured to prove her innocence, or achieve her mission of not only killing the Russian leader, but taking out the American President as well.

The always interesting Liev Schreiber is Ted Winter, Salt’s CIA mentor who joins in the CIA’s pursuit of their rogue agent with the no-nonsense Agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor), but all along doubts Salt’s guilt. But huge surprises are in store, which will remain unrevealed here for the potential viewers of this breathless action film.

Noyce, who has directed spy movies before with Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, manages the string of foot chases, car and motorcycle pursuits with stunning effectiveness. Sadly though, Jolie’s cold characterization never makes us care enough about her plight as she literally walks unscathed from too many near death encounters. Many viewers will undoubtedly enjoy the film’s kinetic pace, Jolie’s athletic stunts and striking plot twists.