This past weekend Salt opened in the US, and is an espionage thriller directed by Phillip Noyce starring Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt.

Salt is a CIA operative who, during an interview with a Russian walk in named Orlav, is accused of being a sleeper Russian spy with plans to assassinate the Russian President.  Liev Schreiber co-stars as Ted Winter, Evelyn’s colleague and friend who at first can’t believe the accusations but finds himself starting to doubt her innocence as the film progresses.  Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Peabody, the agent in charge of apprehending Salt before her alleged mission is carried out.

Salt is the Jason Bourne-esque espionage thriller which originally had Tom Cruise attached to it. Apparently Cruise dropped out to do Knight and Day, and I’m wondering if that turned out to be such a good choice for him.  Salt has a lot of the typical traits of your standard espionage thriller; intrigue, action, chase scenes and nifty gadgets, she’s even a bit of a MacGuyver as well.  She packs light, but efficiently and really, that is something most women have trouble doing.  She can handle herself and her weapons and even displays a bit of parkour with out exerting much more than a light grunt.  She also has the smarts to kick off her heels before she runs and after changing her clothes, goes with sensible shoes.  That’s not something you see very often.

This film served up pretty much what I expected, as director Phillip Noyce who is no stranger to the espionage thriller genre, having done Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games previously (but the major win was Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer – not an espionage thriller but full of awesome none the less).  Noyce keeps the action going and doesn’t let the film get stagnant, there are foot chase scenes, car chase scenes, fist fights, shoot outs, explosions, and alternative uses for fire extinguishers.

The leads, Jolie, Schreiber and Ejiofor all handle their roles as they should, each are fine actors in their own right and it’s no different in this film.  Jolie likes to play those female leads that are tough and can kick your ass, she’s good at it and should continue playing those types of roles. However that being said, my one complaint I have with the film lies with her character.

The problem isn’t how she played it, it’s more of an issue of how the character was written.  We don’t get to find out too much about her.  We know she’s CIA and she’s been through some pretty hairy situations in her time with the agency.  She’s married and her husband is the main reason she goes on the run.  But that’s about it.  There is a tad more info, but for the sake of keeping this spoiler free, I won’t mention it.  The film tells the story of their relationship through flashbacks but you don’t get a real sense of how deep their union runs.  Yeah, you know she loves him, but the reasons she does what she does isn’t so much explained as it is implied.  The character of the husband is quite muted and you don’t feel his presence much in the film at all.

I adore both Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor and was very pleased to see them both in this.  For some reason Schrieber gets cast in an agent-type role often.  He’s got THAT look.  He just fits.  The rest of the cast is relatively forgettable as the film is basically centered on the main three.  There is a blink-and-you-miss-him cameo by Andre Braugher, which took me by surprise.

I don’t think it’s any surprise that the studio would like to turn this into a franchise if they could.  The film definitely ended in a way that other stories could be told using the Salt character.  Time will tell however and if the box office doesn’t show it, the studio probably won’t go for it.  If it remained a stand alone film, that would be fine too.  It can really go either way.

While I wasn’t disappointed in the film, I wasn’t overly excited afterwards either.  I can honestly just say, I liked it but I didn’t LOVE it.  It was entertaining and surprisingly complex in parts, but in the end I would have liked a bit more cohesion and motive.  I had tweeted prior to the movie starting that I was getting ready to watch Salt and I hoped it would make me forget that I didn’t have any on my popcorn.  It helped take my mind off the fact, but I still missed it.

Salt opens in the UK on August 20th.

You can find me on Twitter at @baddladd

Four new Salt banners have turned up online. With only a week left until the film is released in the US, Columbia Pictures are presumably pushing the marketing, hoping to cash-in on opening weekend.

The brand new banners are simple, yet strangely effective, creating mystery as to who the title character is, what she stands for, and what she wants.

Salt, starring Angelina Jolie (Mr & Mrs Smith), Liev Schreiber (Taking Woodstock) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (2012), centres on Evelyn Salt, a CIA officer whose loyalty is questioned when she’s accused of being a Russian spy, after which, the only thing left for her to do is run. Every time she attempts to disprove the allegation, it only makes her look more suspicious.

Directed by Phillip Noyce (The Bone Collector), the film has already attracted some moderately good reviews in the trades. In the UK we’ll see this one on the 20th of August.

Check out the banners below.

IMP had these.

Reported by Jamie Neish

A brand new clip from Angelina Jolie’s new movie, Salt has been released on Yahoo.com. The clip is called ‘Call Me’

Boxed in an interrogation room, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) attempts to elude a CIA tactical team.

Salt also stars Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andre Braugher and is directed by Phillip Noyce. It’s set for release in the UK 20th August and I’ve placed the synopsis below for your reading please. Scroll down to view the new clip.

Accused of being a Russian spy, Evelyn Salt goes on the run, using all her skills as a covert operative to stay one step ahead of the CIA.

Craig put up the new trailer for a new Salt viral game yesterday and to go alongside it nicely, Columbia Pictures have released this brand new poster to go along with it.

Salt stars Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor and is directed by Phillip Noyce. Salt is released 23rd July in the US and in the UK 20th August. Click the poster below to enlarge.

Synopsis: As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who is Salt?”

Yahoo have release a new trailer for the viral game linked to the upcoming film Salt. You can see the trailer for the actual film here.

The film sees the character of Salt (Angelina Jolie) go on the run and the viral game appears to be linked to this hunt for Salt.

You can check out the viral site for Salt at Day X Exists where the first mission in the game is up and ‘playable’.

Not sure this looks too exciting but judging by the the pretty derivative looking film trailer I wonder if this viral might be more entertaining than the film. Watch the viral game trailer below and see what you think.

We’ve seen a poster, had our first salty taste with the teaser trailer and now Columbia Pictures have brought forth a new trailer for the Angelina Jolie starring covert CIA double, triple agent thriller, Salt.

The official synopsis is below, and the Australian director of Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and the Jolie thriller The Bone Collector, Phillip Noyce appears to have honed his action thriller skills.

Angelina Jolie stars in Columbia Pictures’ Salt, a contemporary espionage thriller. Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.

Salt is released in the UK, August 20th.

ET have posted a brief clip of Angelina Jolie shooting a scene for her new movie Salt, and it’s a nice look at the CIA/KGB double agent thriller being filmed.

It may look a touch reminiscent of Bourne and Bond but the action seen for far, and Jolie’s undoubted screen presence will make this one to watch. Reuniting with Bone Collector director Phillip Noyce Jolie plays a CIA agent on the run after being tagged as a KGB spy. Cue double crosses, spectacular stunts and more than a little gun play from Ms. Jolie.

There’s a teaser trailer available here if you want to see a little more Salt, and this film will be out in the UK on the 20th of August.

A brand new poster for Angelina Jolie’s new movie, Salt has been released on JoBlo.com with Jolie looking rather seductive! The movie is directed by Phillip Noyce and is out for release next summer, 20th August. Salt also stars Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Andre Braugher. Click the image above to enlarge or head over to JoBlo.com for the super high res version.

Synopsis: Angelina Jolie stars in Columbia Pictures’ Salt, a contemporary espionage thriller. Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.

Earlier today, a Russian version of the Salt trailer managed to leak onto the Internet and it was quickly culled by Sony. I’m glad as it was worth the wait to see it in HD. On other sites, it’s been compared to a Bourne-style conspiracy theory but what do you think? I’ve embedded it below or you can head over to Yahoo to view in HD.

Salt Stars Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andre Braugher and is directed by Phillip Noyce who has previously brought us Patriot Games and the Bone Collector which also starred Jolie. This means that Noyce is also no stranger to action as Patriot Games in my opinion was awesome and gave both Harrison Ford and Sean Bean a chance to shine. Check out the synopsis below then watch the trailer and you’ll soon see the similarities to the Bourne series. Salt is scheduled for release 20th August.

Synopsis: Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.