Opens August 19

by Kirstan B.

Angelina Jolie is Evelyn Salt: loyal CIA agent or implanted spy? When an aging Russian defector shows up at CIA offices and names Evelyn as a child raised in a Soviet program to infiltrate US intelligence and eventually carry out the mysterious X-Day Project, Salt’s identity becomes suspect. From a North Korean prison camp to Washington, DC and New York City, Evelyn’s true mission is revealed while testing her loyalties.

With 100 minutes of fully-packed action, Jolie mesmerizes you with her cat-like agility (she’s missing some ugly bruises from the car scenes but we’ll forgive the make-up crew), quick wits and teary eyes until the end credits. Originally written for a male lead (rumored Tom Cruise), producers quickly changed Edwyn to Evelyn when Jolie jokingly suggested “I want to be James Bond”. Wise, indeed. Nobody else could have infused just the right balance of physicality, intrigue, and sensitivity under a hard shell like Ms. Jolie has expertly done. Let Tom Cruise stick to couch jumping.