Salt is a 2010 action/spy thriller starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie is kind of a mix between the Bond franchise, the FX show The Americans, and a combination of plot elements from lots of other spy/secret agent movies that have come down the pipe. In some ways, there is not a lot new here, but the twist of making the main character a woman, Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie, does add something that makes the movie stand out on its own. The movie is about a CIA agent, Salt, who is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent in the US who will carry out an assassination within a couple days. The movie then basically becomes part chase story, part is she, or isn't she a Russian Spy mystery, that really does not get resolved fully until the end. The main supporting roles go to Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor as fellow CIA agents trying to track her down and bring her in. The movie clearly sets up a possible sequel or even franchise of films that may or may not ever materialize. But even as its own stand-alone movie, it is very good.
The Blu-Ray is a single-disc release that contains three versions of the movie. First, there is the PG-13 theatrical version, an unrated director's cut, which has a different take on a death scene that would have pushed it to an R rating, a twist on the ending of the movie, and a bit more character development, mainly between Salt and her husband. There is also an unrated extended edition, which actually has a shorter running time than the director's cut, which mainly has a totally different ending from the other two films, plus the changed death scene. All three versions of the film are good and are honestly all worth watching. The extras include several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that end up running probably an hour and a half total. There is also a commentary track on the theatrical version of the film by the director Philip Noyce and some of the visual effects and sound crew members. The bonus content fleshes out the overall story and provides a lot of interesting history about the real KGB "illegals" program of placing spies in America and other countries, as well as some of the U.S. history of doing the same thing. And the AV quality of the movie in HD is very good.
The movie has a good blend of action and suspense and does not reveal too much too soon into the movie. While I cannot say everyone will like the movie, if you are a fan of any of the principal actors and/or director or just generally like the spy movie genre, this is definitely worth checking out.
The Blu-Ray is a single-disc release that contains three versions of the movie. First, there is the PG-13 theatrical version, an unrated director's cut, which has a different take on a death scene that would have pushed it to an R rating, a twist on the ending of the movie, and a bit more character development, mainly between Salt and her husband. There is also an unrated extended edition, which actually has a shorter running time than the director's cut, which mainly has a totally different ending from the other two films, plus the changed death scene. All three versions of the film are good and are honestly all worth watching. The extras include several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes that end up running probably an hour and a half total. There is also a commentary track on the theatrical version of the film by the director Philip Noyce and some of the visual effects and sound crew members. The bonus content fleshes out the overall story and provides a lot of interesting history about the real KGB "illegals" program of placing spies in America and other countries, as well as some of the U.S. history of doing the same thing. And the AV quality of the movie in HD is very good.
The movie has a good blend of action and suspense and does not reveal too much too soon into the movie. While I cannot say everyone will like the movie, if you are a fan of any of the principal actors and/or director or just generally like the spy movie genre, this is definitely worth checking out.
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