So who is Salt, really? This is the question all of her fellow agents are asking themselves, none more than her boss, Winter. Salt is brutally using her gun and fighting skills while on the run, but she isn't using any lethal force, yet she clearly has an underlying mission. As the plot unfolds, we learn more and more just who she is and why she has deviated from the mission she was originally programmed to complete so many years before, one that was designed to destroy all of America. The one thing you can be sure of is that you don't know anything or anyone for sure in Salt.
Salt is a rollercoaster ride and an adrenaline rush. There are plenty of fighting and action scenes and tons of intrigue. The acting is excellent and I enjoyed the conflict between Salt, Winter and Peabody, as each one never knows whether to trust the other. Salt begins as a soft looking romantic, planning each detail of her wedding anniversary, but throughout the movie morphs into a highly effective killing machine hell-bent on stopping the forces in play. I have to give props to Angelina Jolie for this film. From watching the special features, she did most of her own stunts and really impressed me as an all-around badass in this movie. She is moving as Salt and really plays the party beautifully. Plus, it's pretty cool to see her numerous disguises, the most impressive of which has her playing a man.
The special features were actually pretty good and included standards like commentary and picture-in-picture track, as well as a fairly in-depth making-of, a featurette on Salt's disguises, one on Angelina as an action hero, one on the real agents who do this kind of work, one on the amazing special effects (many of which I didn't even realize were CG), plus one on Phillip Noyce, and even a radio interview with Noyce. Also included aside from the Theatrical Release is an Unrated Extended Release, plus an Unrated Director's Cut, however the difference is only a couple of minutes total.
Salt is an excellent espionage thriller packed with action and the way to see it is on Blu-ray. Everything is crisp and beautiful and the explosions just pop right off the screen, not to mention the surround sound that envelops you with destruction. If you love a good action flick, Salt is highly recommended.
