Winner of the summer stars raceBy John DeSando, WCBE's "It's Movie Time," "Cinema Classics," and "On the Marquee"
Evelyn Salt: What is your name?
Orlov: My name is Vassily Orlov. Today, a Russian agent will travel to New York city to kill the President. This agent is KA-12.
Evelyn Salt: The KA program is a myth.
Orlov: Don't you want to know the name?
Evelyn Salt: You're good. You can tell the rest of your story to one of my colleagues.
Orlov: The name of the agent is Evelyn Salt.
Evelyn Salt: My name is Evelyn Salt.
Orlov: Then you are a Russian spy.
That interrogation at the beginning of Salt sets the rocking premise that Angelina Jolie's character, Evelyn Salt, could be a double agent working for the CIA but an operative of the old Soviet Union trying to re-emerge in the post-cold war world. Sleeper spy syndrome is at work here.
The stars are running this summer?DiCaprio from the law as he plies his corporate espionage craft in Inception, Tom Cruise from his own spy agency as they brand him a rogue, and Jolie as we can see from the above. Must be something in the summer air or in their careers as they move up in age, Jolie 35, DiCaprio 36, and Cruise a healthy but aging 48.
And the winner: Jolie for pure fantasy heroics, Lara Croft on steroids with an audience willing to accept the most outlandish setups and screw-ups in the name of summer escapism. She and her doubles jump from truck to truck on the freeway to far outdo Cruise in his contrasting minimalist athletic excesses with moving vehicles.
What Salt is able to do in two hours of non-stop shenanigans is criminal if you have an overactive left brain; if your right brain kicks in, you'll enjoy her unbelievable dispatching of every trained agent trying to stop her from assassinating the presidents of Russia and the USA. Dare I suggest to you, very bright reader, that no way in heck will Jolie be cast as a Russian spy threatening the lives of the most powerful leaders in the world. Enough said.
Yes, although it's all beyond absurd, I was delighted to see another female hero kick the hell out of men (Lisbeth, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, does a commendable job on misogynists). In fact, let me declare once again Ms. Jolie the leader of the pack in cool attitude and astonishingly good looks, and at an old 35.
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, Cinema Classics, and On the Marquee, which can be heard streaming at http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/ppr/index.shtml and on demand at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com