YMMV / Salt

• Complete Monster:
  • Vasilyevich Orlov is a Russian spymaster who trained many Russians to become KGB sleeper agents in America using them to carry out countless assassinations; one of which includes Evelyn Salt before she genuinely defected to the USA, only for Orlov to regain his control by holding her husband hostage and forcing Salt to assassinate the Russian president, leading to conflict between Russia and America. After Salt completes the assassination, Orlov forces Salt to watch him kill her husband, to see if she's still loyal to him, before assigning her to assassinate the US President, and while having her meet up with sleeper agent Nikolai Tarkovsky, whom he orders to launch nuclear missiles at Mecca and Tehran, to subject America to a nuclear war, uncaring about the high death toll of innocents.
  • Nikolai Tarkovsky, alias Ted Winter, is a KGB sleeper agent who infiltrated the US Government and kidnapped Evelyn Salt's husband Mike, giving him to Orlov and allowing him to force Evelyn to assassinate the Russian president and execute Mike once he's no longer of use to them. Infiltrating the White House, Tarkovsky murders countless people there before he launches nuclear missiles against the cities of Mecca and Tehran, intending to kill millions of innocent people there and inciting the wrath of billions of Muslims onto America. After he frames Salt for his atrocities, he tries to kill her as she is taken to custody.
• Genius Bonus: As you may have noticed, the title is in all-caps on the disc case, so it looks suspiciously like SALT.
  • Strategic Arms Limitation? Well, there are plenty of weapons floating around in this movie. And it involves both the US and Russia.
  • Of course, a sequel would be named SALT II. Ring any bells?
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The Secretary of Defense in the film is played by Andre Braugher, who bears a similar resemblance to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
• Magnificent Bitch: Evelyn Salt was a KGB spy who infiltrated the CIA before genuinely defecting to America after marrying Mike Krause after he rescued her. Exposed by her former handler, Vasilyevich Orlov, he also takes her husband hostage to force her to assassinate the Russian President, Boris Matveyev. Salt infiltrates the funeral he was attending and injects Matveyev with spider venom, making it seem like he died. When Orlov executes Mike in front of Salt, she reins in her emotion long enough to fool Orlov into still believing she's loyal before killing him in his cell. She then heads to the White House to kill Orlov's last spy, before convincing Darryl Peabody to free her so that she can kill off any remaining Russian sleeper agent as revenge for killing her husband.
• Moral Event Horizon: When Orlov commands one of his men to shoot Mike, and when Ted plans to nuke major Islamic cities in order to incite rage within the Muslim community.
• Narm:
  • At one point Salt is disguised as a man. It looks as ridiculous as it sounds.
  • On the silly latex facial disguise, yes. On the hair and clothes....
  • The scene where Salt tries to seduce Winter in order to be let in the bunker.
• Retroactive Recognition: Raymond Holt appears as the Secretary of Defense in the bunker.
• Shocking Moments: Many of the twists in the movie can be considered this, particularly the revelation that Winter is also a Russian agent.
• The Un-Twist: In the final scenes was anyone surprised to find out that the Russian president had not been killed?

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