“Salt”
Director: Phillip Noyce
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber
Rating: PG-13
Grade: ?????
Phillip Noyce’s gritty spy thriller “Salt,” starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA analyst suspected of being a Russian sleeper agent, could flippantly be called “Lady Bourne.” It shares the better aspects of the Matt Damon franchise’s “spy out in the cold” DNA.
With a tight, well-plotted script, fun twists and fantastic stunts and action sequences, it would easily be smart summer fun already. What elevates the movie, though, is the cast. Jolie fits perfectly into the title role, harnessing a mix of toughness and vulnerability. Having the talented Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor to play off as her CIA supervisor and a counterintelligence investigator, respectively, doesn’t hurt, either.
A bonus: Eagle-eyed viewers might recognize a certain free daily newspaper that Jolie puts to good use on a New York subway train.
