9 Movies That Weren't As Smart As They Pretended To Be
5. Salt Believes The Cold War Still Makes A Good Contemporary Thriller
In the real world the Cold War ended in 1991. In the magical place that is movieland youd be forgiven for thinking Ruskies were still sworn enemies. Salt first went into production in 2002, I guess close enough to be a throwback, but by the time it finally got into cinemas eight years later it wasnt just the gender of the character that had changed (Tom Cruise was originally attached). The Cold War was a long distant event to the extent where a good chunk of the audience werent alive when the Berlin Wall fell. Important, yes. Current, no. But the film still ploughed on with its Soviet-mole fueled story, which became totally undermined when the direction went the modern, gritty root. That method may work for updating Batman (and because this is WhatCulture I am contractually obliged to say it didnt with Man Of Steel), but it just looks stretched when applied story that comes from a set time. Thats not only where the film overestimates itself. The action is sub-Bourne and the twisty plot is either implausible (spider venom) or predictable (the mentor was the bad guy all along?!), ending up as a generic thriller. Youd say Phillip Noyce was out of his depth if it wasnt for his earlier success with Patriot Games. Although that Cold War thriller (timed rightly in 1992) may be the very root of Salts problem.
