For the fine folks over at Moving Pictures, I reviewed the latest Angelina Jolie-starred vehicle Salt.
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| Fear of the Soviet Union spawned a cottage industry during the Red Scare 1950s that only ended with the 1991 collapse of the USSR. James Bond, “The Hunt for Red October” and “Red Dawn” all entered the pop culture zeitgeist during that period. A small, even more paranoid subset emerged during this time: the Soviet mole, a Russian agent so deeply embedded within American society/culture as to not even know that he (or she) is the enemy until an event awakens him. Director Phillip Noyce (“Catch a Fire”) and screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (“Law Abiding Citizen”) revisit this Cold War concept in the largely forgettable “Salt.” |
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| Rather than following the groundwork established by the superior “mole” films “The Manchurian Candidate” and “No Way Out,” Noyce cobbles together set pieces to create a thriller with no tension and, for the most part, unremarkable action. The quick-moving tale needed more time devoted to character development, especially given the quality of actors involved, none of whom is given much to do. |
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| Obviously an attempt to spawn a Bourne- or James Bond-type franchise, the film relies on the tropes of both series, lifting at least two memorable scenes directly from the Bond mythos. “Salt” offers none of the strengths of what it hopes to emulate and falters as even an interesting summer action movie. |