Angelina Jolie remains one of the most recognizable actors in Hollywood, even though she doesn’t work quite as regularly today as she did in the first decade of the 2000s. After starring in Girl, Interrupted (1999) Jolie went on to star in movies like Alexander (2004), Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005), The Good Shepherd (2006), and Wanted (2008). Though she is widely known for films across a variety of genres, Jolie, especially at that time, had a reputation as something of an action star.
Jolie’s role as video game adventurer Lara Croft in two Tomb Raider movies cemented her action hero persona, and subsequent roles in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Wanted only further solidified this. More recently, the actor returned as an action star for movies like Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021) and Eternals (2021). One specific subgenre that Jolie has worked in sparingly is the espionage thriller, but her work in this space is now drawing praise from an expert.
Angelina Jolie’s Salt Performance Draws Praise From Espionage Expert
The Spy Thriller Gets One Aspect Of Spycraft Correct
Jolie’s loyalty test featured in Salt has earned the film an impressive accuracy score from an expert. Released in 2010, the spy thriller hails from director Phillip Noyce, with Jolie starring as CIA operative Evelyn Salt, who is forced to go on the run after she is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent. Though a Salt 2 never happened, the original film features a number of intense sequences, including a scene in which Salt is forced to watch as her husband is shot as part of a loyalty test by her Russian handlers.
In addition to Jolie,
Salt
stars Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Pearce, Andre Braugher, and Daniel Olbrychski.
In a recent video for Insider, former double agent Naveed Jamali analyzes this loyalty test from Salt, revealing that, in theory, it’s actually relatively accurate. While on the extreme end, Jamali stresses that, in these types of environments, loyalty tests are not only very common, but a constant element of work. He also analyzes an earlier scene in which an agency walk-in accuses Salt of being a Russian spy, which he also deems plausible. Check out Jamali’s comments or watch the video (relevant section begins at 17:33) below:
“So, when we see Salt essentially having a walk-in say that she is a Russian agent, which in fact does turn out to be some level of true because she’s a double agent, actually, there are instances historically where the allegiance of certain assets or case officers has been questioned, both correctly and incorrectly. So it is not outside the realm of possibility that a hostile intelligence service would shoot, essentially, disinformation to try to confuse the allegiance and tie up that intelligence service.
“So, in the scene we just saw in Salt where her husband is executed in front of her, it’s an extreme test of loyalty. And while I don’t know that violence is always something that’s used, loyalty is constantly tested. It wasn’t so much about what you said in terms of believability, like to being loyal, but rather answering questions consistently.
Actually,
I’m going to give it an eight [out of 10]
. I think that the concept of testing loyalty is important, and that is something that is continuously done for as long as you’re working.”
What Salt’s Accuracy Means For The Film’s Reputation
How The Jolie Thriller Fared Critically & Commercially
Salt is one of the last times that Jolie played an action hero in a major movie, and the film was generally a success. Made on an estimated budget of $110 million, the film grossed $293.5 million worldwide. At that budget level, the movie was likely looking at a break-even point of between $220 million and $275 million, both of which it clearly exceeded.
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As far as critical consensus, the response to Salt was somewhat lukewarm. The Jolie film currently has a 62% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 59% audience score, with praise aimed at the actor’s commanding screen presence and some of the action sequences, even if the movie’s plot often strains believability. Though some of the scenarios in Salt may be ridiculous, it’s clear that at least some elements are surprisingly close to real-life, and this certainly makes the film one to revisit as Jolie has seemingly moved away from action hero roles.
Source: Insider
Salt is a 2010 action thriller starring Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent who is forced to disappear after she is accused of being a spy for the Russians. Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star alongside Jolie, with Phillip Noyce as director. Despite Salt getting mostly positive reviews, a sequel never came to fruition.
- Director
- Phillip Noyce
- Release Date
- July 23, 2010
- Studio(s)
- Columbia Pictures
- Writers
- Kurt Wimmer
- Runtime
- 100 Minutes
- Budget
- $110–130 Million