The Film
Before he went on to make the Death Wish films his signature franchise, Charles Bronson starred in a now largely forgotten film called Telefon, which involved our man Chuck having to hunt down a series of Soviet sleeper moles. Too bad Bronson isn't still around to put down a few more deep cover Soviet spies - because that's about the only plot twist missing from Salt, now available on Blu-ray Disc. In this Tom Clancy wannabe story, Angelina Jolie is a trusted CIA operative named Evelyn Salt. After being released from a North Korean prison, which evokes the James Bond film Die Another Day, she's about to move to the peaceful side of a desk job.
But when a former KGB agent comes in from the cold, and exposes Salt as a sleeper agent, she's on the run. This involves a freeway chase, a daring assassination and twist after twist. Writer Kurt Wimmer pulls every stop out in this one, and by the end the film is so confusing with so many twists and turns that there is actually enough material for more than one version. In fact, on the Blu-ray, which includes the theatrical version, a director's cut and an unrated extended cut, the key reveals and twists occur at different points. None of these are really satisfying enough. Instead you just get a different version of the same bad film.
For another take on Salt, read Joe Lozito's review.
The Picture
Despite the hole-ridden plot, there is a lot to look at in Salt, especially as the bonus materials reveal how much was actually accomplished through CGI. From the parade of mourners for the (spoiler alert!) Vice President's funeral to the scenes that occur at the White House, much of the film was done through computer magic. In fact, while much of the movie is set in Washington, D.C., most of it was in fact filmed in New York City. The 1080p 2.40:1 presentation reveals none of this, and instead the picture looks surprisingly clear. Because of the winter time setting there is a gray cast throughout, thus this is by no means a Technicolor visually stunning film by any measurement. Colors are muted, but generally accurate and lifelike. You watch this one for the explosions and action scenes and in that way it delivers without any visual distractions.
The Sound
For an action film that can be truly described as "over-the-top" Salt is not exactly loud. The surround sound is even, with discrete separation in the rear channels, yet surprisingly isn't so over done with the numerous explosions and constant small arms fire. Dialog is also clear even with the Hollywood "Russian" accents that are thrown in. However, other than action-related noises the 5.1 channel DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack brings out few details in the way of ambient noises or sounds of the city.
The Extras
Where the Blu-ray release of Salt is somewhat rewarding is with the bonus materials. The disc includes the original theatrical version, a director's cut and an extended unrated sequence. While sitting through this movie more than once is trying, it worth noting that at the very least both the theatrical and extended are worth viewing as key reveals are changed as is the ending. The extended version actually is probably the one that makes the most "sense," if anything in this train wreck of an action story makes sense.
The disc further contains filmmaker commentary, multiple featurettes including "The Ultimate Female Action Hero," "Spy Disguise: The Looks of Evelyn Salt" and a radio interview with director Phillip Noyce. The Blu-ray exclusives include perhaps the best thing on the disc, namely a 12 minute featurette titled "SALT: Declassified: An undercover look at the secrets of making Salt." This shows how CGI transformed a Long Island park into the White House, and how other visual tricks were done. Other featurettes include "The Real Agents," "False Identity: Creating A New Reality," and the disc even includes a "Spy Cam: Picture in Picture Track" that can run during the film, as well as movieIQ and BD-Live.
Final Thoughts
Three versions of the same movie couldn't plug all the plot holes, and even with suspension of disbelief on maximum this film just fails to be the least bit believable. There are too many twists, too many convenient situations and Evelyn Salt is somehow the best of the best and the luckiest of the lucky. All this would be forgivable if the story reached a satisfying conclusion, but instead it just seems like it borrows from everything from Bond to Bourne, and comes off as bore instead.
Product Details
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