‘Salt’ is an action flick without much to fill the plot
It happens every winter. Around January and February there are a
lack of movies that fall into the category of something I want to
see. Last weekend’s new openings included the thriller
”
The Roommate,
”
with Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet and Leighton Meester and the
exorcism movie
”
The Rite,
”
which in all fairness has the amazing Anthony Hopkins but turned
me off with the claim that it is
”
based on actual events.
”
‘Salt’ is an action flick without much to fill the plot
It happens every winter. Around January and February there are a lack of movies that fall into the category of something I want to see. Last weekend’s new openings included the thriller “The Roommate,” with Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet and Leighton Meester and the exorcism movie “The Rite,” which in all fairness has the amazing Anthony Hopkins but turned me off with the claim that it is “based on actual events.”
Other movies playing locally included “The Mechanic,” yet another assassin film starring Jason Statham, and a bunch of movies I’ve already seen. I could have traveled to San Jose to see some of the Oscar-nominated fare I’ve already seen, but it felt like it would be a good weekend to pick up a DVD or watch something on demand.
The only problem with getting something on DVD or watching something on demand is that it is usually something I missed in the theater because it wasn’t on the top of my list of things to see. Sometimes the offerings can be hit and miss, as I learned with a couple of the recent movies I watched.
Salt
I almost saw this Angelina Jolie action film when it was in theaters, one Friday afternoon when I had a few hours to kill before an evening assignment. But instead I went to see the melodramatic Zac Efron flick, “Charlie St. Cloud.” I thought I probably should have seen “Salt” instead.
That was until I started watching “Salt.” Jolie can be a really good actress at times, as she was in “The Changeling,” when she made me forget I was watching action hero actress Angelina Jolie, or the other half of Brangelina and mother of six. In the Clint Eastwood-directed film, Jolie plays a role based on the true story of a mother whose young son went missing and with whom authorities place a similar-looking boy that she never believes is her son with her for a few months. Jolie was steady and calm as the determined mother who refused to give up hope she might find her real son.
But “Salt” doesn’t actually require much acting in it. It’s basically a different version of Jolie’s original action role of Lora Croft, but “Salt” doesn’t have the excuse of being based on a video game for its bad plot. Evelyn Salt is a CIA agent who is sent to interview a Russian spy right before she needs to leave work for the day to celebrate her anniversary with her husband.
Of course, the short interview goes all wrong when the detainee accuses Evelyn of being a Russian spy. Evelyn’s boss and coworker Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor), for some reason seem to believe the Russian spy instead of Evelyn. She begins to panic as she worries that her husband’s life is in danger. The movie starts off with a bang pretty close to the beginning as Evelyn creates a bomb out of some common household cleaners so that she can escape to find her husband.
The rest of the movie involves a lot more car chases, explosions and weapons. Is Evelyn really a spy? Is her husband in danger? If she is a spy, has she become loyal to her American home? The movie is just so short on plot and character development, it’s hard to care about any of it. One thing is sure, though, as Evelyn escapes right at the end of the movie, the film has been left open for a sequel.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is a predictable movie, but it is much more entertaining than “Salt.” At least the actors are devoted to their characters and they bring some personality to the roles in this typical good versus evil story. Balthazar Blake is a centuries-old sorcerer who trapped a bunch of other wizards in Russian nesting dolls. In the inner-most layer is Morgana, a strong sorceress who could destroy the world if she were ever to escape. Balthazar’s mission has been to find an apprentice who will be strong enough to defeat Morgana.
When he discovers Dave (Jake Cherry, the actor who plays the young version of the character) as a misfit kid who stumbles into the shop, Dave is nothing like what he expected the “chosen one” to be. Dave inadvertently traps Balthazar and another wizard in a vase, where they stay for many years.
Dave is in college (Jay Baruchel,) a scientist of sorts who likes to work with electricity, when the wizards escape their prison and track him down. Both wizards want the nesting dolls Dave threw away into the city streets years ago, but only Balthazar wants to train him. Dave is skeptical, at first, of becoming Balthazar’s apprentice, and that he might be strong enough to defeat Morgana. But through the movie, he begins to understand his own strengths better. Baruchel is perfect for the nerdy-guy role and Cage does grizzled wizard well, though the screenplay doesn’t call for too much depth from the pair.
