Salt

Sony

R4 DVD

Salt is an action packed adventure which would fall very flat without Angelina Jolie. The script was passed around for some years but no one will to do anything with it until they changed the sex of the central character and got Jolie on board. It is not surprising really as the script is a fairly mediocre spy drama which offers little by way of suspense. It is a film fed by action and is essentially a showcase for its central actress, Angelina Jolie.

A well respected CIA agent who has offered most of her life for her country is accused by a Russian defector of being a double agent. She escapes through a number of increasingly unlikely methods to supposedly prove her innocence but the story has more to offer. She was actually trained as a Soviet assassin but is now working against her handlers to flush out the deep stealth agents.

There is lots of over the top action and some great one-on-one fights but little depth. Character development is non existent. Her husband is basically a one dimensional figure who appears a couple of times in the film but has very little significance. While there are various deep undercover operatives they are underutilized until the very end and it is fairly obvious from the early stages of the film who the real baddy is likely to be.

While this is still a rather timely tale, there have been recent reports of long term Russian undercover agents in the U.S it is still presented in the form of an action story with little much else to offer. Sure, the car and truck jumping sequences at the 30 minute mark are impressive and the action more than keeps the film bumping along. But you end up feeling you have been sold an empty bill of goods, it is a hollow big budget extravaganza and one that has clearly been set up for a sequel.

Reviews appear on the Synergy website with a single cover image. In the digital and print edition, reviews appear with multiple images and with expanded content.

This review will appear in Volume 3 No. 6 of the digital and print edition of Synergy.

We recommend you download the free digital edition (or buy the print edition) to get the most from Synergy. The print and digital editions of Synergy also include a large selection of articles and features not found on the website. If you have a limited download quota you can view the digital edition via the Issuu viewer on the digital edition page.

If you came to this page directly (and missed our menu), click here to go to the front page of Synergy Website or use the following link: http://www.synergy-magazine.com