CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is on her way out to celebrate her wedding anniversary, but before she could leave her and her partner Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) are informed that they must stay to interrogate a Russian defector that has sensitive information. Inside the interrogation room Vassily Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) informs the CIA agents that a Russian spy will assassinate the Russian president and the name of the spy is Evelyn Salt. When Agent Peabody tells Salt that she must remain in the room for interrogation, she goes on the run to try and clear her name and to try to solve the mystery behind the possible assassination attempt to the Russian president.

It is hard not to look at this movie and think of every other feature film that it closely resembles. The on the run cop who must clear its name has been done so often that is just seems like it will fall into that generic theme. However, while it screams unoriginal it is quite the opposite. It does feature elements that are quite familiar at first, but it takes everything that is good from other movies and employs them with great ease into the script. The first act will definitely begin to set the tone and while many will feel that there is a certain level of predictability, the second act will completely change that assumption. The story is well driven that any prior thoughts of prediction will be quickly put to rest and even raise a level of surprise by the time the film reaches its climax.

Obviously, the story is the main driven point of the film and a good script would allow the filmmaker to make the feature work as well as Salt did. Phillip Noyce understands what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and how it needs to be done in order to keep the audience in their seats. Every piece of the puzzle falls inline accordingly and it is shown to the audience only when needed without giving a hint of what is to come next. The cast is simply great. The lead character required an actress capable not emitting any human emotion and Angelina Jolie delivered. Angelina really understood what the character of Salt was really about and she easily went from a disoriented individual to an all kick ass mode with ease. The supporting cast like Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor were also worth noting and delivered without a problem.

Director Phillip Noyce did an excellent job with the material at hand. He really understood what an action movie was all about and how to execute every key part of the movie without going overboard, which seems today’s norm. Every key action sequence was excellently executed throughout with a somewhat level of believability. All the action was very well choreographed. Salt is perhaps one of the season’s best action films. The filmmakers understood what was need for it to succeed and they delivered.

Salt arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.40:1. Colors are natural and well resolved. Black levels are deep and inky. The image is clear and sharp. Skin tones are natural and lifelike. Detailing is exceptional throughout; very striking and revealing. Details on close up shots, clothing, streets, etc. are very well resolved. A few soft shots are revealed during the film, but they are only during flashbacks scenes. Salt also features a healthy layer of grain to give it that cinematic feel to the film. This is the type of high quality that most fans typically wish for, so enjoy it. Kudos to Sony for the great job.

Salt arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. This track rocks; it’s really that simple. The dialogue is clean and clear with no issues with reproduction and well prioritized. Bullets rip through the soundstage with enough power to make you feel part of the action. The LFE output provides great support to all the fist fighting, explosions, car crashing, etc. feature enough power to give that extra engrossing feel to the movie. Ambience effects are well reproduced through the surrounds that help create a more believable soundfield Salt simply sounds fantastic.

Audio Commentary – Director Phillip Noyce goes in-depth in this audio track. Noyce tackles everything about the film and is very thorough with the material. It is very informative and I suggest you give it a go at least once.

The Ultimate Female Action Hero – The filmmakers praise Angelina Jolie and her efforts behind the making of film and the stunts performed by the actress.

Spy Disguise: The Looks of Evelyn Salt – This features a look behind the scenes at the make up work as well as all the transformations of Jolie’s character.

The Treatment with Phillip Noyce – A radio interview hosted by Elvis Mitchell. Noyce talks about his involvement with the project, his fascination with spy stories, and more.

Spy Cam – This is a picture-in-picture track that gives the viewer an opportunity to see some interviews, behind the scenes footage, discussion about the shooting, and more.

Salt: Declassified – This is a making of featurette and it features an overview of everything SALT. It features a view at the casting, stunts, interviews, and more.

The Modern Master of the Political Thriller: Phillip Noyce – This featurette allows the actors to praise the director and all of his filmmaking abilities.

The Real Agents – This gives the opportunity to three former agents from the CIA and KGB to talk about how they were recruited, the dangers, the job, etc. Very interesting supplement.

False Identity: Creating a New Reality – This featurette allows the viewers to see how what is real and what is not in a movie.

Trailers – Red Hill, Ticking Clock, Takers, Easy A, The Other Guys, and Eat Pray Love.

Different Versions of the Film – This release features an Unrated Cut and an Unrated Extended Cut aside from the Theatrical Cut.

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BD-Live Functionality

SALT is certainly not going to win any Oscars, but it certainly not aiming for one either. However, it is a good enjoyable action film. Angelina Jolie is great in her part of the on the run CIA agent. Phillip Noyce handles the material with great vision and delivers a great production. The Blu-ray features excellent video and audio transfers and set of great supplements to round up this release. If you an action fan, then you shouldn’t think twice about checking out SALT.