Salt Thoughts
Jan. 1st, 2011 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaThe DVD actually offered three options and so I chose the extended cut because I figured it would be pretty much the same as in theatres except with some additional scenes. However after the movie I learned that it was a different ending so I switched to the theatrical version – and ended up going back at least forty minutes! The difference wasn’t just a few deleted scenes it was a complete change in the story. I have never seen that before. I wonder why they did that?
I enjoyed the movie but I liked the second version I watched, the theatrical version, more. It felt like the theatrical version concentrated much less on Evelyn’s relationship with her husband as a motivator. Like – during her conversation with Ted in the bunker. In the extended version Ted tells her he’s the one who had Orlov take Mike and it’s what causes her to shoot at the glass but in the theatrical version it’s Ted telling her how he set her up to be the fall guy (and him the hero) that causes her to shoot the glass. I prefer the theatrical a bit more. Her anger and grief over Mike is still there but it’s more than that. Also in the extended version we get an Evelyn/Peabody scene while she’s being held and in it she’s fairly out of it, and breaks down completely over Mike. I actually did like a lot about that scene – Evelyn’s grief stricken “I stood there and watched him die and did nothing” and Peabody’s sincere compassion for her, and the fact that she escapes herself – there was a lot to like about the scene. But I did not like how it started with Evelyn folding paper and saying the pledge of allegiance because it made her look very... troubled. Also I would have preferred her to say something about the fact that dealing with Orlov wouldn’t be enough as she did in the theatrical. And I didn’t like her knocking Peabody out – I much prefer them working together. So there were pluses and minuses for both.
• I preferred how Mike died in the extended version – drowning in front of Evelyn instead of being shot as soon as she turned the corner – as it had a lot more emotional impact and it made sense to me as a test of loyalty for Salt to pass. I mean him just being shot and killed instantly doesn’t really seem all that much like a test. Sure, she could have freaked out and attacked them but forcing her to watch as he died and thus forcing her to make an actual choice is definitely a far more effective test. I choose to consider that how he died. Of course it does make Evelyn a very, very grey character. In the theatrical version there was nothing she could have done to save her husband. But in the extended version she stood there and stared into the eyes of the man she loved as he drowned – that’s pretty damn dark.
• I’m so very glad that the character Salt was switched from being Edwin to Evelyn especially since she was basically the only female character in the movie. There was such a dearth of female characters in this movie. We have a couple who get a few lines though nothing much to do (the little girl, the older lady on conference call at the end, and the younger one in the bunker) as well as some in the background but mostly it’s men, men, and in case there wasn’t enough, more men. If it had been Edwin I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. I wish there had been more female characters. Why couldn’t any of the other characters have been women? I mean Shnaider as a women would have been easy to do and nice. Or Peabody. As it is if Tom Cruise had taken the role our only significant female character would have been his wife – who would have got him out of North Korea (which was awesome) but then who would have basically been a background love interest, be kidnapped and then die. That... would have been bad.
• Evelyn was pretty great. I loved how she made a bazooka from a couple of found items when she found herself trapped on the locked floor in the CIA building. I also loved how smart she was and how dedicated and competent. I loved watching her kicking ass and jumping from trains and doing all sorts of crazy shit (her walking along the window ledges outside her apartment made me go ‘Gah!’ I wondered also if she specifically chose her apartment because of those ledges?). I was very pleased that she clearly loved her dog and made sure to get him to safety. Evelyn killing Ted with her chains was pretty hard core.
• I hope they do a sequel because I would love to watch Evelyn taking out the various sleeper agents and working with Peabody. Also another female character would be great. Perhaps she could be an agent put in charge of tracking Salt down. Or even another sleeper agent who like Salt doesn’t want to complete their mission. There has to be at least one more like her.
• Between the various facts – that Evelyn faked the Russian president’s death, that she generally didn’t take kill shots when she could have or it would have been easier for her to, as well as the American President’s statements about what happened in the bunker (also wouldn’t there be cameras in there?), the fact that the launch was aborted – I feel like it should be pretty obvious, to at least the intelligence community, that Evelyn isn’t a bad guy. I love the idea of a secret organisation being set up, with Peabody heading it, as a support system for Evelyn as she travels around the world getting rid of the rest of the sleeper agents.
• I got the feeling in the extended version that Ted was in love with Evelyn. Though it didn’t stop him from trying to kill her. I got less of that in the theatrical version what with him setting her up from the beginning to be the fall guy for him but it was still there a little.
• There were a couple of things that hit my ‘uh sure whatever’ button: 1) When the NYPD got custody of Evelyn post-assassination instead of the federal authorities. I just didn’t believe it. She assassinated a world leader! I’m pretty sure the city police do not have jurisdiction over that and I have a hard time buying that the CIA/FBI/Secret service would have allowed it. 2) The rapid escalation of tension between Russia and the US seemed to happen really fast, as well as the fact that it was all over the media that Evelyn worked for the CIA. I would think that would all be locked up tight. I suppose Orlov’s people could have made sure the information was leaked.
- Fic I want to read: post-movie Evelyn/Peabody fic where they hunt sleeper agents together. And a dark Evelyn/Ted AU where Ted told Evelyn who he was, she never fell in love with Mike and they were competent bad guys together.
I enjoyed the movie but I liked the second version I watched, the theatrical version, more. It felt like the theatrical version concentrated much less on Evelyn’s relationship with her husband as a motivator. Like – during her conversation with Ted in the bunker. In the extended version Ted tells her he’s the one who had Orlov take Mike and it’s what causes her to shoot at the glass but in the theatrical version it’s Ted telling her how he set her up to be the fall guy (and him the hero) that causes her to shoot the glass. I prefer the theatrical a bit more. Her anger and grief over Mike is still there but it’s more than that. Also in the extended version we get an Evelyn/Peabody scene while she’s being held and in it she’s fairly out of it, and breaks down completely over Mike. I actually did like a lot about that scene – Evelyn’s grief stricken “I stood there and watched him die and did nothing” and Peabody’s sincere compassion for her, and the fact that she escapes herself – there was a lot to like about the scene. But I did not like how it started with Evelyn folding paper and saying the pledge of allegiance because it made her look very... troubled. Also I would have preferred her to say something about the fact that dealing with Orlov wouldn’t be enough as she did in the theatrical. And I didn’t like her knocking Peabody out – I much prefer them working together. So there were pluses and minuses for both.
• I preferred how Mike died in the extended version – drowning in front of Evelyn instead of being shot as soon as she turned the corner – as it had a lot more emotional impact and it made sense to me as a test of loyalty for Salt to pass. I mean him just being shot and killed instantly doesn’t really seem all that much like a test. Sure, she could have freaked out and attacked them but forcing her to watch as he died and thus forcing her to make an actual choice is definitely a far more effective test. I choose to consider that how he died. Of course it does make Evelyn a very, very grey character. In the theatrical version there was nothing she could have done to save her husband. But in the extended version she stood there and stared into the eyes of the man she loved as he drowned – that’s pretty damn dark.
• I’m so very glad that the character Salt was switched from being Edwin to Evelyn especially since she was basically the only female character in the movie. There was such a dearth of female characters in this movie. We have a couple who get a few lines though nothing much to do (the little girl, the older lady on conference call at the end, and the younger one in the bunker) as well as some in the background but mostly it’s men, men, and in case there wasn’t enough, more men. If it had been Edwin I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much. I wish there had been more female characters. Why couldn’t any of the other characters have been women? I mean Shnaider as a women would have been easy to do and nice. Or Peabody. As it is if Tom Cruise had taken the role our only significant female character would have been his wife – who would have got him out of North Korea (which was awesome) but then who would have basically been a background love interest, be kidnapped and then die. That... would have been bad.
• Evelyn was pretty great. I loved how she made a bazooka from a couple of found items when she found herself trapped on the locked floor in the CIA building. I also loved how smart she was and how dedicated and competent. I loved watching her kicking ass and jumping from trains and doing all sorts of crazy shit (her walking along the window ledges outside her apartment made me go ‘Gah!’ I wondered also if she specifically chose her apartment because of those ledges?). I was very pleased that she clearly loved her dog and made sure to get him to safety. Evelyn killing Ted with her chains was pretty hard core.
• I hope they do a sequel because I would love to watch Evelyn taking out the various sleeper agents and working with Peabody. Also another female character would be great. Perhaps she could be an agent put in charge of tracking Salt down. Or even another sleeper agent who like Salt doesn’t want to complete their mission. There has to be at least one more like her.
• Between the various facts – that Evelyn faked the Russian president’s death, that she generally didn’t take kill shots when she could have or it would have been easier for her to, as well as the American President’s statements about what happened in the bunker (also wouldn’t there be cameras in there?), the fact that the launch was aborted – I feel like it should be pretty obvious, to at least the intelligence community, that Evelyn isn’t a bad guy. I love the idea of a secret organisation being set up, with Peabody heading it, as a support system for Evelyn as she travels around the world getting rid of the rest of the sleeper agents.
• I got the feeling in the extended version that Ted was in love with Evelyn. Though it didn’t stop him from trying to kill her. I got less of that in the theatrical version what with him setting her up from the beginning to be the fall guy for him but it was still there a little.
• There were a couple of things that hit my ‘uh sure whatever’ button: 1) When the NYPD got custody of Evelyn post-assassination instead of the federal authorities. I just didn’t believe it. She assassinated a world leader! I’m pretty sure the city police do not have jurisdiction over that and I have a hard time buying that the CIA/FBI/Secret service would have allowed it. 2) The rapid escalation of tension between Russia and the US seemed to happen really fast, as well as the fact that it was all over the media that Evelyn worked for the CIA. I would think that would all be locked up tight. I suppose Orlov’s people could have made sure the information was leaked.
- Fic I want to read: post-movie Evelyn/Peabody fic where they hunt sleeper agents together. And a dark Evelyn/Ted AU where Ted told Evelyn who he was, she never fell in love with Mike and they were competent bad guys together.
