comment #1

erniesouchak says ...

I think I'd rather see the wigs on Cruise.

comment #2

dinovelvet says ...

It does look a bit like warmed-over Mission Impossible style antics, which makes me wonder why Cruise didn't just change the main character's name to Ethan Hunt and turn it into MI4. Instead we get another Angelina "Look at me, I'm a WOMAN and I'm kicking butt!" disposable vehicle.

comment #3

actionman says ...

she's so fucking hot.

looks like fun.

big fan of liev schrieber (sp?)

chewy is also in this film. good stuff.

comment #4

Josh Massey says ...

Yeah, it definitely looks like something Cruise would star in.

comment #5

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Meh.

I've seen this movie before. Many, many times before.

It's funny that the Russian in the trailer doesn't even phase me. It seems like every Phillip Noyce film could play in Russian, and I doubt anybody would really miss any surprising plot points (these conspiracy thrillers are becoming so predictable in their "unpredictableness").

Something about Jolie looks a little off here. Maybe it's the fact that the part was written for a dude, and unfortunately this doesn't quite appear to be the exception to the rule like Alien was. Or maybe it's the fact that she looks much more at home when doing trashy action a la Wanted as opposed to the more "highbrow" end of the spectrum.

The latter movie wasn't anything special (ludicrous plot, some really hammy exchanges), IMHO, but I really think Jolie really drives that fucker home -- I'm being completely sincere when I consider that one of the absolute finest female action performances ever committed to film. She's sexy, she's dangerous, she's magnetic, and she's mysterious -- which is not at all unrelated to the fact that she's basically...mute.

Very few of these things seem to apply to her character in Salt (what a fucking awful title, btw), at least from an initial viewing of that trailer.

comment #6

Gordon27 says ...

'Wanted' and 'Swordfish' were both on HBO within the last day or two, and I was kind of shocked at how much 'Wanted' was the same straight-up schlock, on a character and story-arc level, that Hollywood was serving up a decade ago.

Oh, sure, 'Wanted' guy is a little younger, so he has the misogynistic "cheating girlfriend" plot instead of the misogynistic "I have to get my daughter away from my ex-wife, who is now a porn star" plot, but they've got quite a bit in common. Including neither one being particularly worth watching -- certainly not on a small screen, anyway.

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

I hope the shot of her running in bare feet brightens LexG's spirits somewhat.

comment #8

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

That's pretty interesting, Gordon...I'd never really thought about comparing the two (actually, I haven't thought about Swordfish at all in a long, long time, which kinda says how memorable that film was...), but you're right -- they're both peddling the same sort of 90s B-movie wankery.

I think the subplot in True Lies might actually be the king of that sort of overcooked storyline...the fuck was that crap doing smothered all over the middle of a quite enjoyable Cameron-Arnie blockbuster?

At any rate, I'm fairly convinced Jolie was born to be a star in absolute garbage. I always come away from movies like Hackers being shocked she has as much screen presence as she does, whereas after watching her in more high-profile roles (A Mighty Heart, for example), I just can't shake the feeling that she's just not a very convincing actress.

All persona, no real range...how has she not starred in a giant movie with Will Smith yet???

comment #9

drbob says ...

I'd be willing to watch the whole movie in Russian. I don't think it would make a bit of difference.

That being said, Noyce is no hack. Unfortunately, this is 100% Jolie's gig.

comment #10

Pynchon8 says ...

"...In a role originally meant for Tom Cruise, Jolie is fine with the accent, leapings, kickings and whanot. And the wigs are cool..."

Which accent is she fine with?

Chewey is the straight-arrow jerk who pursues Salt until he discovers the trusted Liev is bad guy and Liev offs him or thinks he does only for Chewey to crawl back and save the day?

comment #11

bulltron says ...

This looks like fake trailers in front of Tropic Thunder. All it needs is to end with the line, "Please pass the salt." Hell, it might be in there. My Russian is pretty rusty.

comment #12

lazarus says ...

CitizenKaned, that's a bit unfair re: Noyce. His adaptation of The Quiet American was far from a routine action film, and contains arguably Michael Caine's career best performance. And then you also have Rabbit-Proof Fence, an personal project that is certainly not Hollywood plot-driven.

comment #13

Pynchon8 says ...

@Lazarus--Good as Caine was in The Quiet American, more impressive was the performance Noyce got out of Fraser.

comment #14

LexG says ...

This is going to RULE.

JOLIE POWER. Cannot wait.

Noyce is solid; I went to some retrospective of his Aussie movies at the Egyptian a couple years back and saw NEWSFRONT. It was very good; Dead Calm, Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence... he's done more than just Paramount-style nuts-and-bolts action.

And THE SAINT is underrated and has the second most awesome soundtrack of 1997 after Lost Highway.

Also: CRUISE IS GOD.

comment #15

DeeZee says ...

So it's basically Angie playing Alba in a chick-flick version of Eagle Eye? I will add that that is how you dub a foreign film in another language: So the dialogue fits in the mouths of the characters, and the actors sound like the actors on the screen.

comment #16

DeeZee says ...

Lex: I guess, compared to The Avengers, The Saint's not so bad.

comment #17

Gordon27 says ...

"actually, I haven't thought about Swordfish at all in a long, long time, which kinda says how memorable that film was..."

I hadn't seen it; I wasn't really watching it, per se, but I left it on because there was nothing else on, and because I'm constantly fascinated by any John Travolta performance post-'Battlefield: Earth'.

Okay, okay, I also knew about the boobies.

"I think the subplot in True Lies might actually be the king of that sort of overcooked storyline"

In 'True Lies', though, it's the actual story of the movie. The result is a movie that's a bit top-heavy, where the A plot and the B plot both have about the same amount of screentime, but it's at least deliberate. And, obviously, 'Swordfish' didn't start it; what surprised me was that 'Wanted' was so mired in stuff that was already shitty screenwriting ten years ago.

But, that's Mark Millar for ya.

"All persona, no real range...how has she not starred in a giant movie with Will Smith yet???"

I agree with you about Jolie ['Sky Captain', for some reason, comes to mind as a near-perfect use of her], but I think Smith has a bit more range. I think Smith is being held back by how popular he is -- he's so popular that he can't do 'Hancock' as written, it *has* to be scaled back how bad the guy is, just because audiences won't accept him as a bad person.

comment #18

Fortunesfool says ...

Looks like a Bourne movie, if, you know, you could actually see what was happening. It's about time that the shaky-cam, incomprehensible editing approach ended and actual film-making craft returned.

comment #19

TheGK says ...

'And THE SAINT is underrated and has the second most awesome soundtrack of 1997 after Lost Highway.'

While I can agree that the soundtrack was good, the film is in no way underrated. Watching Val Kilmer be a 'spy' by putting on a funny wig and talking in a funny voice was hilarious.

comment #20

LexG says ...

The Saint had the light, playful, '70s/early '80s Cold War vibe of one of the better Moore Bond movies.... goofy and exciting and cool; When Moore did the brief voiceover at the end, it was a touching, awesome passing of the torch. I persist in believing that was a loose, fun spy movie with a GREAT SOUNDTRACK and a cool villain in Rade Sgegdgdgergvievdgia.

Plus you CANNOT deny the ownage of SIX UNDERGROUND by Sneaker Pimps. It is IMMORTAL.

comment #21

JapAdapters says ...

Joile bears a striking resemblance to Joan Holloway in this trailer. Well, from the neck up anyway.

comment #22

bildeaux says ...

Sounds like Jolie is really nailing the Russian accent this time.

comment #23

Rich S. says ...

THAT's who she looks like, JapAdapters. It was really bugging me and I couldn't put my finger on it. Particularly at the beginning, when she's wearing the blond wig, she does look like Christina Hendricks.

comment #24

BurmaShave says ...

Who should, incidentally, be a bigger star than her.

comment #25

richlbii says ...

the worst thing about Swordfish was the absolutely ridiculous keyboard typing in it. for a while i thought maybe hugh jackman suffered from some sort of spasmic hand condition. the piano fingering in a tom & jerry cartoon is more realistic.

comment #26

lipranzer says ...

Who's the guy with her in the interrogation room for half the trailer?

comment #27

CharlieKaufmanFan says ...

Angelina is an underrated actress. She has given wonderful performances in Gia, Girl Interrupted, A Mighty Heart, Gerorge Wallace, Changeling, Playing By Heart, and The Good Shepherd. She's also badass in action like in Wanted and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The comments above saying she has no range obviously haven't seen the wonderful performances I listed.

comment #28

Momus says ...

@lipranzer That guy is Daniel Olbrychski, a brilliant and very experienced Polish actor:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646037/

@CharlieKaufmanFan. Having seen the films you mention, I can't agree with your assessment of Jolie's acting talent. She had her moments in "Playing By Heart" where she was capable of showing the character's vulnerability, and does the badass stuff pretty well in Lara Croft-type roles, but in my opinion she never disappears in her roles, never truly embodies the character she is supposed to play. Too much screen charisma, too little range. That "Salt" thriller won't help me change my view, I'm afraid.

comment #29

LexG says ...

Momus:

BOW TO JOLIE. It is useless to resist.

She is PURE sex.

comment #30

JapAdapters says ...

Burma,

In case you hadn't noticed there's no star as big as Hendricks. Hubba-hubba!

comment #31

reellife says ...

I think it's funny that most people who say she's not a good actress think Brad Pitt is underrated. LoL I feel the opposite. I see Brad Pitt acting the same bland way in all of his dramatic roles(basically being himself) and I think Angelina is a great Dramatic and Action actress. I enjoy her movies but maybe that's because I don't pay attention to her public life and I can separate the actress from the Tabloid soap opera.

comment #32

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"CitizenKaned, that's a bit unfair re: Noyce. His adaptation of The Quiet American was far from a routine action film, and contains arguably Michael Caine's career best performance. And then you also have Rabbit-Proof Fence, an personal project that is certainly not Hollywood plot-driven."

Yes, 2002 was a very good year for Noyce. Just to set the record straight, I was not saying he's a bad director (I love Dead Calm). I'm not sure where you got that impression. My irreverent joke had more to do about the material he's drawn to, which tends to take on this 70s-conspiratorial vibe, than his actual directing skills, which can be substantial.

That is, when he's not doing "hacky" material like The Bone Collector, Patriot Games (worst Clancy adaptation ever, and that's including the video games), or (*shudder*) Sliver.

One final note on Salt: the very "hacky" Kurt Wimmer was involved with writing the screenplay, which makes me officially not involved in anticipating this sucker on almost every level.

comment #33

Momus says ...

@LexG

Correction: Jolie WAS (pure?) sex ca 10 years ago.

@reellife. I can separate tabloid fodder from acting accomplishment. There's simply not enough talent in Jolie that I could appreciate. I'm not enthusiastic about Brad Pitt either (that Inglorious Basterds turn was painful to watch), but he showed more range in "12 Monkeys" and "Fight Club" than Angelina Jolie in all of her films.