I was planning to watch Salt by Philip Noyce since my last birthday. Recently there was some occasion to get my hands on this picture.
Primary reason of interest was Daniel Olbrychski getting his 5 minutes in the movie, possibly 5 the most valuable ones. The main character, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a CIA agent under cover of a businesswoman. Her husband has no clue of her profession. Moreover he has no clue that she is a sleeping mole for ex-KGB officers who form a secret unit.
At one moment into the Agency HQ comes man called Orlov who reveals that there is a mole inside whose name is Salt. After his escape Evelyn Salt, exposed and trusted by noone, starts struggle for her survival and for saving the Russian president in a way that her Russian supervisors believe he is actually killed.
The director sets us off on a journey full of kicking, killing, jumping, speeding on the highway. The scenes with Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) are one of the best ones, but even him who supposed to be falsely slow and sneaking like a snake makes a show of combat skills which are not really needed. Two scenes of conversations between Orlov and Salt are the only good sides of the picture. After all, the tension is not always about kicking whatever walks by. A silent threat of not even raised voice makes bigger impression.
The plot itself is outdated. Lee Harvey Oswald and Kennedy conspiracy theory are things no longer fashionable. In recent history of post -Soviet era the reality is full of secret service actions which would serve far better as a start-point of the movie. Enough to mention poisoning of colonel Litvenenko in this place, a mystery which still remains "unsolved".
Rare case, I don't remember music from this movie. Probably it was very well matched with whatever action and served it's purpose as a good background. Good music sometimes saves the movie, but I don't remember it.
By chance I checked who was the scriptwriter. Kurt Wimmer... is it really the same person who had written the Thomas Crown Affair screenplay? Everyone has better and worse outcomes of his work. But to write a successful script for a spy story is like writting a novel on it. It has to be very well prepared and thoroughly researched before writing any word. Otherwise any ultimate fan of political fiction, like me, will be disappointed. I didn't buy a cinema ticket, just seen dvd at the friend's place. And, I wouldn't buy it.
****
Is there anything she likes, a reader may ask. Yes. There is one movie done exceptionally well which pictures daily struggles of secret agents operating in the shadows of society and law. "Secret Agents" with Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel is a must watch and good rest after watching "Salt" Not that everything is perfect in that one either. I will write about it some time later.
