Richard Corliss (19 May 2013)

Noyce's methods of crafting suspense are defiantly old-fashioned: low-angle shots for maximum viewer disorientation and a preference for daredevil stunt work over CGI cheating.

Zdislav_Dorklehoven (19 May 2013)

Stupid spy with an insidious anti-Russian message...

All the humor that you find in this film is sarcastic and with alwaysthe same objective: To make the russians look stupid, their ( multiple) allies look stupid, Chiwetel Ejiofor look stupid, his boss andcolleagues look stupid. The only people who are normal, wise, and evenclever are agents from the Russian mossad... I call this film a lameand heavy propaganda for the anti-Russian community against all theother communities. I know anti-soviet movies exists, now you've theexact opposition: anti-Russian films !!! Besides the humor is reallydumb and for 14 years old children's, and mocks all the values of theRussian people, even when you attempt to make humor, you've got to havesome respect. The dumb people who wrote this movie should be ashamed ofthemselves.Ps. The first TOMB RAIDER film was good, this one really sucks !

Lori Hoffman (18 May 2013)

[Thanks to the] kickass persona of Jolie, Salt is a relentless spy thriller that never slows down.

(17 May 2013)

Salt/ DVD

This review is from: Salt (Deluxe Unrated Edition) (DVD) This movie had a lot of action. Miss Jolie is a wonderful actress. I felt the movie was little over the top for me. I will of course see it again, but not as much as I see my other movies.

(03 May 2013)

Salty spy

In this spy thriller, Angelina Jolie is a star. She is transforming her looks from blonde to black, long hair to short hair, female to male gender. Her attire goes from business sexy to matrix-like sexy. As in "Lara Croft" movie this heroine is smart, determined, beautiful and she can fight, pull some serious stunts by riding on the top of the truck, or riding a motorcycle bike. Oh, and this time around, the heroine speaks Russian!This is an action packed movie that will keep you on your toes from start to finish. However, I found some of the scenes difficult to watch, especially the ones where Jolie's heroine gets punched around by beefy male advesaries. Good entertainment movie that leaves ending open to "Salt 2" sequel....

Todd McCarthy (03 May 2013)

Jolie herself is in her full glory here as a character born when Bond and Brezhnev ruled.

Bill Clark (02 May 2013)

Salt succeeds as an unpretentious, confident, and fast-paced action piece.

neenahhh (02 May 2013)

Why action films are one of my favorite movie genres

A Russian spy accuses Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent, of planning theassassination of one of the President of Russia. She quickly goes onthe run, which makes her fellow CIA agents question who she really isand what her motives really are.I really did like the action that was in this film. I was enthralledwith the fighting scenes, the car scenes, and just the whole actionaspect of the film. Angelina Jolie did good with this one. Although theplot did get predictable, I was still quite impressed. Sure, it couldhave been a lot deeper, but this was meant to just be a fun action filmto watch. It's really as simple as that! I don't get why others don'tseem to like this one. I'm already excited for the possible sequel ofthis movie.Viewed on: December 26, 2011

(01 May 2013)

hideously ridiculous

....but,but jolie is in it !!!! shes hot so the movie has to be great. right ?!?!?!?this might have been an alright waste of time in the vain of RED, The Expendables, From Paris With Love and any jason statham movie if it hadnt taken itself seriously. its highly unbelievable, poorly acted, had zero humor (implied or intended), those behind the scenes didnt fair any better.from what i remember;shes a spy, but isnt on the side she thinks she on or should be on. this takes the premise from ''last kiss goodbye'' a little further. the action sequences were lame, there was no tension or intruige. the plot, again, was laughable. if this didnt have jolie in it, it would not be getting attention or ratings above 2 stars.easily forgettable.

baron_genitalstrassen (30 April 2013)

If it was up to me, I'd ban it

I have never been a fan of the poster child of graphic violence. Theonly Angelina Jolie film I ever reached the end of was 'A MightyHeart', and she only did that for money.Angelina, if you're reading this, your films - including this one -disgust me.How can you possibly imagine that it is entertaining to watch someone,in graphic detail, being flayed? Or to watch someone poke their fingerinto an open wound to deliberately inflict pain? How is thisentertainment? I see you say (quoted here on IMDb) : "What if a kidgoes to school after seeing Kung Fu Panda and starts slicing up otherkids? You know, I'll take that chance! Violent films don't turnchildren into violent people. They may turn them into violent filmactors but that's another matter altogether." Are you really so naiveto believe that your films don't influence kids? Or unstable adults? Ican only suppose you grew up in a perfect middle-class world where kidsdo their homework when they're told to, and respect their parents.Where I live, it's not like that. Kids are bored, undisciplined andviolent. And that's before they get high on cheap drugs and alcohol anddecide to skin the neighbours cat - like they saw in your film. Iagree, violent films don't turn non-violent people into violent people,but they DO give violent people new ideas.When are you going to grow up and realise that we're not all 10 yearsold any more? Actions have consequences. You are in a position to showkids that there are alternatives to violence. Or do you prefer thatthey go around sticking hypodermic needles into each other?

Enchorde (18 April 2013)

Good spy action-thriller

Recap: Evelyn Salt is a young CIA-agent working in the "Russia House" adepartment with focus on events and people in Russia. And she is latefor home and her anniversary. That moment, Orlov, a Russian agent stepsinside her office and claims a Russian agent will kill the Russianpresident in New York in a couple of days. And that agent will beEvelyn Salt. Suddenly she is the most sought after fugitive in theentire country, but she is involved in a game with much higher stakesthan her own life… Comments: Actually, they are quite rare, the really good agentaction-thrillers. But Salt is one, and Angelina Jolie is a startalented enough to handle and carry a movie like this. She and themovie got all the ingredients. First and foremost a good and deepenough story. I wouldn't call it complex, but with enough layers thatgives it room to evolve and give it weight. Secondly it got all thehigh adrenaline shots such a movie needs. Car chases, explosions, gunfights. You name it, you got it. And it doesn't dilute it with an halfhearted attempt at comedy.In my opinion, given a good enough continuing story preferably in thehands of Wimmer whom has delivered solid action movies time and again,has the possibility to become a new agent franchise. This could well bethe first movie in a series, it has established a solid foundation forit anyway.That Jolie excels is not a surprise really, but she got good support aswell. Both Schreiber and Ejiofor are solid actors, especially Ejioforis one of the more underrated in Hollywood. His role was limited inSalt, but could very well be expanded in an eventual sequel.This was one of the better in the genre recently, entertaining all theway through. I can only hope that they see the opportunity andrecognize what they have in Salt.8/10

bob the moo (17 April 2013)

Messy plot but moves slickly enough to stop you worrying too much till after you have watched it

Evelyn Salt is an agent for the US government – highly trained andhighly effective. However, when a Russian defector brings news ofchildren raised in Russia as Americans and placed into the US assleeper agents in all manner of powerful positions, Salt is one ofthose named. Knowing she is innocent, Salt's first thought is to ensureher husband is safe and, unable to do so from the custody of heremployers, flees – essentially admitting her guilt in the eyes of AgentPeabody, even if her boss Ted Winter is adamant of her innocence.The plot of Salt appears to be the standard stuff of a highly trainedspecial agent out on their own trying to clear their name while beinghunted by their own people. To its credit it is a bit more twisty andturny than that and it does make it more engaging that if it had justbeen played straight out. This is not the same as me saying it allworks though, because to be honest if you sit down and look at it inthe cold light of day there is a lot in the plot that doesn't make awhole lot of sense. In particular there are narrative-conveniences thatare done for the sake of it even if they are incredibly unlikely. Thething is though, the film carries them and, while you may easily pickholes in it, the chances are that the majority of viewers will be doingthis after the film rather than during it.It is not just the specific action sequences that do it but rather theoverall tone and pace of the film. It is slickly made and deliveredover 90 minutes so that there is no time for the viewer to ruminate onspecifics – instead we are whisked to the next twist or next moment.Living in the moment is the action/thriller film's friend and it workswell in Salt, making it fun and quite urgent while you are watching it.Of course a lot of it doesn't make sense and normally I would be thefirst to call nonsense on such a film, but somehow Salt makes it work.Having a banner star is essential and, although I'm not a fan of Jolie,she does have a screen presence (quite how considering how stick thinshe is, but she does it). She doesn't quite deliver on the potential ofher character here as she only lets a humanity come through now andagain, opting instead to mostly go with "sexy indestructible spy",which is less effective and has been done to death for all but the mostlibido-led teenage boys. Schreiber and Ejiofor are both strong insupport and add a weight to the film that it definitely benefits from.The rest of the cast are solid enough but the presence of AndreBraugher is a mystery to me – such a good actor and well-known face butyet here he is on screen for a few seconds and barely two sentences tosay.Salt is not a brilliant film by any means and the sequel-friendlyending didn't have me excited to see the character more, but yet Ienjoyed the film while I watched it. The slick delivery and strong pacehelp cover up the plot holes and convenient narrative devices andgenerally it is fun. Best enjoyed in a genre friendly setting such asthe summer blockbuster season or as a Friday night DVD though as it isprobably not strong enough to play well away from home turf.

bhardwaj_intrestingmeet (15 April 2013)

one of the worst movie of the year i have seen.......

Yesterday I brought two DVDs one of inception and other one is salt andI am in bit of shock after watching those. Because salt is the worstmovie of the year I have seen, and inception is best movie of the yearI have seen.So as far as salt is concerned, biggest disappointment is its storyline which is so unrealistic and unbelievable. Now many of my friendswill say this is just a movie and has to be its story over the top andone should not expect too much from it and movies are made for onepurpose that is Entertainment.But don't you think that even in a movie, A movie has at least notrealistic but at a satisfying story, in which salt is completely failedcorrect me if I am wrong a Russian people ask the Russian spy to killtheir own president in America so that they can launch attack onAmerica, and ask the same spy or another to kill the American presidentand use their nuclear weapon on other Muslim. I mean what is reallysucked… I didn't understand few thing first are the people on anycountry can be really mad (forget about Russian) can plan to kill theirown president to began the downfall of other country and that toowithout and proper justification to their extreme step (in which thisfilm failed miserably to explain this both point) Another thing whichis indigestible is that number of Russian spy it shows in Americanintelligence; I mean my question is really America is really that kindof country? This thing also I didn't get it.At last rating is concerned I will give 3 max out of 10 that toobecause director keeps you guessing and action are good and theperformance are quite good but all actors.

(15 April 2013)

Complex, character driven, action films still exist!?

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.

(29 March 2013)

Outrageously implausible action/conspiracy movie

I'm a little shocked at some of the glowing reviews of this movie. First off, I am a conspiracy buff and love action movies with a "thinking man" element to them. This movie's action sequences were ridiculously implausible. Granted, some of that is to be expected. But, it's the plot that makes this movie absurd.*Spoiler Alert*At one point in the movie, Jolie crosses her CIA colleagues at which point they discover that she's not what she appears to be. It turns out she's a Russian spy with links to Russian companies. How did they discover this? By simply searching their database!! Are we supposed to believe the CIA doesn't screen these people and know who they are inside and out?Somehow, the KGB orchestrated a grandiose plan (taking some 30 years in the making) in which they train various assassins from childhood to assassinate an American president. This depends on Jolie escaping all sorts of impossible scenarios, taking out dozens of intelligence agents and police along the way. If landing unscathed on her back on a moving truck from a bridge wasn't enough for you, Jolie never gets hurt in the whole movie. Expert shooters also can never seem to connect from 10 feet away either. This movie takes the cake for most number of guys getting knocked unconscious for seemingly benign blows. One of the more outrageous plot points was the Russian spy who "leaks" to the CIA that Lee Harvey Oswald was a Russian-trained spy. He reveals that it was Oswald who killed JFK. Of course, the CIA has no idea that the lone gunman theory is patently false. At the end, the CIA is double-crossed by another agent they had no idea about! Apparently, anyone can lie to the CIA and they are none the wiser.Too many plot holes to get into coupled with Jolie as the terribly cast double-agent. I could write a list of 20 or 30 unbelievable points in this movie, but suffice it to say, spend your money on a real conspiracy/action movie.

(29 March 2013)

Just plain bad

I don't think this is the worst movie I have ever seen, but it is probably in the top 10. I would recommend skipping it (unless you want to complete the Tomb Raider/Wanted/Salt trifecta). Here are some of the reasons:- Stereotypes: Russians, CIA operatives, politicians - you name it and they are stereotyped in this movie. Absolutely nothing new, original, professional or fleshed out. Absolutely no character development.- Plot: I was expecting to spend at least part of the movie wondering "which side is she on?" That never happens. Plot holes are huge and distracting. Easily spotted plot turns with a final 'twist' that is so telegraphed that it doesn't come as a surprise at all. The ending screams 'sequel'.- Acting: Honestly - if Megan Fox had been in this instead of Angelina Jolie, people would be ripping it apart. Somehow, Jolie seems to get a free pass and brings 'controlled depth' and 'icy calm' to the character when I saw it more as 'sleepwalking through a role'.- Production values: jerky camera work and convoluted camera angles that don't really capture the action as much as give you a headache when trying to follow it.Overall, the only positive thing is that at least it wasn't a long movie. I guess if you don't do any character development and rely on stereotypes then you don't have to spend a lot of time on it. Just patch together a bunch of bad action scenes.

Matt Pais (14 March 2013)

Needlessly leaving the door open for Salt 2: Saltier, Salt is politically moronic and narratively dead ... as predictable as a feel-good kids' movie.

(13 March 2013)

Meh

This review is from: Salt (Amazon Instant Video) I was very disappointed. I've no problem suspending belief..it's a movie..belivable isn't an issue. Acting wasn't that great honestly and by the time the movie got started - it was over and I was left with, "what? that's it?" Actually I like the premise of the movie but it left me wanting...and wtf happened to Jolie? Doesn't she eat anymore? She looked awful.

Joe Lozito (03 March 2013)

Angelina Jolie's half-baked actioner feels like it was unearthed from some pre-Iron Curtain time capsule. Maybe back then we would've bought the wildly improbable plot.

John Anderson (02 March 2013)

As she tries to find her husband, and perhaps assassinate the Russian president, she's not quite sure who or what she is. And neither are we. Which is precisely why the whole thing works.