Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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Salt (Film)
Rating: M
Running Time: 100
Country: USA
Director: Phillip Noyce
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Angelina Jolie, Zoe Lister Jones, Liev Schreiber
Distributor: Sony
Release Date: August 19, 2010
Film Worth: $13.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthWhile Angelina Jolie delivers an engaging performance, the real merit of this film lies in its ability to successfully straddle blockbuster action and stylish thriller.
Those pesky Russians are at it again! Just when we thought that Hollywood had emerged from the stock Cold War villain era, Australian director Phillip Noyce (Rabbit Proof Fence, Patriot Games, Dead Calm) has cleverly resurrected the classic US enemy in an espionage thriller reminiscent, in story and style, of Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur. This is Salt, the action packed tale of CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), who is forced into hiding when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. In a series of dramatic and exciting set pieces, Evelyn must prove her innocence, evade capture, and prevent an act of terrorism which, if carried out, will surely spell the beginning of a major world war. All in a day's work...
It takes a certain type of actress to convincingly take on a character originally conceived as a male action hero (Tom Cruise was originally set to star), and Angelina Jolie, having worked with Noyce previously on The Bone Collector, fits the bill like no other. Supported by a strong cast, including Liev Schreiber, Ted Winter and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jolie makes leaping over plot holes and between speeding trucks on a freeway look easy. While Kurt Wimmer's (Law Abiding Citizen) screenplay lacks nuance and artistic sensibility, Jolie brings a three-dimensional rational-emotional inner conflict and urgency to Salt, which is utterly engaging.
Performances aside, the strength of Wimmer's screenplay lies not in its characterisation, but in its blend of historical fact with popcorn fiction, and Noyce handles the material with confidence, unapologetically walking the line between blockbuster action and stylish, moody suspense. Indeed, while composer James Newton Howard's score is fittingly frenetic and bombastic, traditional chiaroscuro lighting from cinematographer Robert Elswit adds to an ever-present atmosphere of tension and uncertainty.
