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MOVIE REVIEW

Salt

also known as “Agent Salt,” “Edwin A. Salt,” “Agente Salt,” “Ajan Salt,” “Điệp viên Salt,” “Druska,” “Salt ügynök,” “Salt: Choisis ton destin,” See more »
MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for intense sequences of violence and action.

Reviewed by: Thaisha Geiger
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens Adults
Genre: Action Thriller Drama
Length: 1 hr. 40 min.
Year of Release: 2010
USA Release: July 23, 2010 (wide—3,400+ theaters)
DVD: December 21, 2010
Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Picturesclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures

Spies in the Bible

Lying in the Bible

Truth

About murder in the Bible

VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

Featuring Angelina Jolie (Evelyn Salt), Liev Schreiber (Winter), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Peabody), Zoe Lister Jones (Zoe Kinnally), Yara Shahidi (Cleo), Gaius Charles (Todd Bottoms), Cassidy Hinkle (Young Salt), Victor Slezak (3-Star General), James Schram (Corporal Davis—U.S. Military), See all »
Director Phillip Noyce—“The Giver” (2014), “The Bone Collector” (1999), “Patriot Games” (1992)
Producer Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Columbia Pictures. Trademark logo.
Columbia Pictures
, a division of Sony Pictures

“Who is Salt?”

Climbing walls barefoot, using an extinguisher as a rocket launcher and even driving a cop car with a mere taser gun demonstrates just some of the abilities of accused CIA agent Evelyn Salt. In a role originally written for Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie owns the fast-paced thriller about an agent on the run.

Evelyn Salt is on her way to enjoy a quiet anniversary dinner with her husband when a Russian defector shows up at the CIA building with some insider information. Salt and her fellow agents quickly blow off his assertions about Russia sending over spies trained since infancy, and even his warning of the impending assassination of the Russian president during his stay in New York City. Things suddenly change, however, when he claims the Russian spy and soon-to-be assassin is none other than Evelyn Salt, herself. This accusation quickly lands her on the opposing side of CIA agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Still believing in his friend is agent Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber).

Revealing any more of the plot might inadvertently present spoilers. While there are plot holes and logic-defying stunts, “Salt” steers clear of gimmicky CGI stunts with Jolie performing a great majority of her own stunts. Director Phillip Noyce keeps the pace steady, pausing enough to introduce the film’s twists and turns. The movie displays strong technical mastery, keeping the suspense and action sequences fresh. When tiredness and boredom threaten to enter within the screen, the film wisely ends.

Objectionable Content

With a beautiful female lead, I was afraid that the filmmakers would sexually objectify the character of Evelyn Salt; refreshingly, they did not. There are no sex scenes. Jolie is briefly shown in her bra and panties, while being tortured by the North Koreans. In one scene, she takes off her underwear and uses it to cover up a video camera.

As for profanity, there are about 6 uses of GD, 5 sh*t, and one BS. The film contains very heavy amounts of violence, so viewers should definitely heed the appropriately assigned PG-13 rating. While in North Korea, Evelyn Salt gets a tube shoved down her throat, and gasoline is subsequently poured down it. During an interrogation, she is brutally punched in the face several times. There are numerous hand-to-hand combats and plenty of shootings. However, little blood is shown during the fights and shooting. One man is repeatedly stabbed in the throat with a broken bottle, but the actual stabbing is not shown. There’s one suicide bomber who’s briefly shown blowing up before the camera turns away. One man is murdered when Salt takes a chain and viciously strangles him with her weight by jumping off a stairwell.

When meeting some of the Russian spies, they devotedly kiss the ring of their leader—sharing a close bond with one another. With false seeds planted within childhood, they wholeheartedly believe in their leader’s horrid cause, despite the bloodshed required to achieve his vision. Matthew 7 warns of false leaders and knowing them by the fruit they bear.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistle?”

Determining whether or not to see “Salt” depends on your taste in films and what offends you. If you found “The Bourne Identity” and “Mission: Impossible” trilogies enjoyable, you’ll likely find “Salt” exciting, especially with Angelina Jolie in the lead. “Salt” has little character development, but a whole lot of action. Who is Evelyn Salt? The film’s slogan asks an excellent question which is never quite answered, save a few flashbacks. Perhaps the question has been purposely left open as the basis for future sequels.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—My wife I and I really enjoyed “Salt.” The action was very good, and there was minimal sexuality displayed. The language was about what I would expect from a spy thriller with lots of action, but it’s not really necessary. Angelina Jolie was excellent in the movie, and I like the twists in the plot.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 3
Robert, age 49 (USA)
Positive—I found this movie to be better than average in the sense of an action movie. I don’t really noticing any swears and certainly nothing sexual, which I found a huge relief. Swears and sexuality are really not necessary to make a really good movie. The violence was not graphic. I would recommend this movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Sandy, age 55 (USA)
Positive—I saw this movie last night and thought it was really, really good. Besides the lack of sexual content, the plot was fascinating to follow and left me hoping for a sequel, especially as there was some ambiguity to the history of the characters. The reviewer did a good job mentioning any possibly objectionable material without giving a blow-by-blow account of each scene. As far as I’m concerned, “Salt” is up there with the Bourne movies. The action was great, believable without being cliche; there was not too much or too little dialogue. I really enjoyed it!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
R, age 19 (USA)
Positive—My husband and I saw this last night, and it’s refreshing to see a movie with no sex and hardly any cussing. The action was very good, although there was a lot of murder (they didn’t really show a lot of gory details). It was very well made, especially if you liked Jason Borne type movies. I didn’t like how obvious they made the end lead to another one. Great action though, and you didn’t really know what was really happening, there is a great twist at the end.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Samantha Taylor, age 36 (USA)
Positive—…I loved it! The action was packed and intense. And Angelina Jolie was great… except her stare is annoying. I couldn’t tell who was on the good or bad side, and I got surprised at the end. It was a bit of a disappointment to me. There is a language watch out: There are a lot (like over 12) J**** and J**** C**** and an “F” word uttered by the character Liev Schreiber’s character. There is also a lot of killing for no reason, which is not Bible based. But I really liked this film, but this movie should be seen by 15 and up.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Emma, age 22 (USA)
Positive—This film’s plot will keep you guessing right up to the end! It’s full of surprises. The violence is heavy, but not gory. And the reviewer makes a great point about how they didn’t objectify Jolie! I’d say this film is worth watching at least once. The amount of objectionable content is low, and it has a great message about standing up for what you know is right—even if you know it will come with extreme prices.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Gabriel Mohler, age 25 (USA)
Neutral
Neutral—I enjoyed watching “The Bourne Identity” movies. “Salt” was no different. There was action every minute and the film goes by very, very quickly. “Salt” grabs your attention and holds it until the very end of the film; you won’t even have time to look at your watch to see what time it is. With that being said, the reason for the “average/neutral” rating is for the language. Also, I felt that the filmmakers paced the film too quickly, as if it were on “fast forward.” Other than that, it’s a good movie for action film buffs and I give two thumbs way up to Angelina Jolie for doing most of her stunts. Jumping from car to car and sliding down elevator shafts is no easy task.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Shannon, age 28 (USA)
Neutral—This movie wasn’t the best, but it kept me interested. Although I did not see the plot twist coming towards the end, I should have, because it’s so predictable with this sort of movie. All in all, it wasn’t bad, but fairly dismissable.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Heather Park, age 18 (USA)
Negative
Negative—This flick went outrageously violent from the very beginning, and that violence didn’t make much sense overall. Violence and action sequences just happened without explained reasons. Later on, some reasons were revealed but they keep you unsatisfied. Given answers just don’t justify or even make you realize why the main character does what she does. Ending doesn’t give any affirming answers either, just leaves you with a bitter taste of revenge.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Pete, age 30 (Finland)
Negative—I honestly did not get what the big deal was about this movie. While the action and the special effects were very well done, along with a plot that had a ton of potential, it just fell flat. I found it the plot dragging, kind of slow, and there was a series of flashbacks meant to tell you the story, but, to me, they were out of place and sometimes too long. The acting was not that great in it. Angelina Jolie, in my opinion, is not that great of an actress.

As a Christian, the only moral faults were the foul language, some sexual innuendo, brainwashing of children, and some might be offended by the heightened violence. I’ve had friends disagree with me. They loved the movie and found it very entertaining. As I cannot recommend this film, I have friends who do.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2½
Jacob Airey, age 23 (USA)
Comments from young people
Positive—This movie was probably one of the least offensive PG-13 rated movies I have ever seen. There was some language but not much. A few sh*ts and d*mns but nothing worth worrying about to much. There was sex or sensuality. The closest this movie got to nudity was when Angelina Jolie was being tortured (not a gruesome scene, they were pouring water in her mouth) she had only he underwear and bra on but they showed he face mostly. There was quite a bit of violence but there was not much blood and no gore. I would recommend this to anyone 11 or up.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Matt, age 12 (USA)
Positive—Not bad at all. The only offensive thing about this movie was the cussing and violence. The movie makes violence look requisite, even if it wasn’t. The action was good, clever, and kept you guessing what would happen next. Evelene Salt is Jasone Bourne, but a woman, and she already knows who she is. But, if you want an action film, here it is.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Paulina, age 17 (USA)