Media

Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - January, 2011

"Salt" (Blu-ray) - Reviewed by Stephen Hornbrook

Synopsis

The movie opens with CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) being tortured in a North Korean prison. She is soon released as part of a prisoner exchange to her lover, Michael Krause, a German arachnologist. Two years later, the two are married and Salt has recovered from her time in prison.  Just before she is about to leave to celebrate her anniversary, a Russian defector Orlov explains that Evelyn Salt is a Russian spy, who had been trained since she was a child.  He claims that her ultimate goal is to kill the Russian President at the funeral of the American Vice President. No one in the CIA takes this lightly and locks the office down to ask Salt a few questions.  Evelyn is much too worried about her husband to sit around doing nothing, so she escapes the CIA offices. She rushes back to her apartment to find it ransacked and Michael gone.  After gathering supplies, weapons, and a special spider, Evelyn takes off on the run from the CIA agents.  To figure out what is really going on, she heads toward her supposed target, the Russian President.  Is she truly a Russian trained spy hellbent on destroying the U.S. of A? Watch the movie to find out!

Commentary

I wasn't expecting to much with this movie, but I came away pleasantly surprised.  Jolie definitely kicks some ass in this movie and the action is a lot of fun.  There is just enough story and intrigue to keep the film rolling.  If you enjoy movies like James Bond or the Bourne series, definitely check out Salt.

Technical

Image quality was sharp and detailed, yet lacked some depth to really draw the viewer into its grasp. I think perhaps a bit more contrast and color could have brought this transfer to the top.  The audio soundtrack was very good, although I just watched Inception and the sound on that completely blew away Salt.  Still, a very good quality disc.

Extras

Audio Commentary, theatrical/directors/extended cuts of the movie, several featurettes to keep you more than satisfied.