Salt really took me by surprise, it’s the best action movie I’ve seen in awhile. I’m a fan of Angelina Jolie, she’s sexy, she commands screen presence and she really is a great actress. When she’s in a movie she really digs it shows. Salt it like a combination of Tomb Raider (the female hero lead) and the James Bond/Bourne series.

Evelyn Salt is a covert CIA agent who has done a lot for the United States. When she’s accused of being a sleeper Russian spy, she goes on the run. This doesn’t bode well for her innocence so she’s chased down by her co-workers while dealing with a plot to assassinate the Russian President.

Everything works well here. Really great direction to complement the action scenes (and there are many of them), the stunt work in here is nothing short of fantastic. Great integration with CG and practical effects and the soundtrack is fittingly epic (I did hear a rather obvious Terminator ring to Salt’s “theme” though). They made Salt a really vicious assassin, she has a heavy dose of Batman’s’ preferred style of getting the jump on enemies and disabling them as quickly as possible with no second thoughts. With two dangerous sides closing in on her, you’re not entirely sure where her loyalty lies. Salt is a really smart character and I really liked that. Gun fights, fist fights, crazy car and on foot chases, some great espionage action which I love. Jolie rocks in this movie, I loved everything about it.

The Other Guys is basically what Cop Out wanted to be. The right mix of action and comedy (like Beverly Hills Cop) that works on both angles. This is a Will Ferrell movie, so if you don’t like his type of comedy, you probably won’t like it. This is less of a “Will Ferrell in X sports goof” and more of the SNL type direction that made him famous.

The Other Guys is a hard spoof of buddy comedies that is often ridiculous that works more than it fails (unlike Cop Out). Allen and Terry are the other guys on the police force, they’re planted right in the shadow of the super cops in their precinct. When those guys suddenly hit the skids, Allen and Terry are able to shine, finding an embezzlement scheme that will cement them as heroes. The set ups and homages are great, the backstory for Allen being such a push over was hilarious and Mark Wahlberg as Terry is the perfect pushing force behind the duo. Will and Mark work well, it shows on screen.

On the other half of the equation is the action which was done really well too. Some great action scenes were cooked up and executed really well, it wasn’t half assed. It complements the comedy side really well making a whole package of funny dialog with fun action scenes (car stunts are a real highlight). Check it out, I really liked it.

Retired and Extremely Dangerous is a fun action movie. Based on a graphic novel, Frank Moses is a retired CIA agent who is cruising through his life when danger comes to his doorstep. Requiring the help of some old friends and colleagues, Frank goes after the people who now deem him a serious threat.

RED is probably the best movie Bruce Willis has made in awhile, though I do find it hard to see Bruce Willis as playing anyone but Bruce Willis. Maybe he’s been rocking that same bald head for so long? Or that he seems to play the same character all the time. Denzel Washington has the same problem, although from his perspective that isn’t a problem. The rest of the cast is great though, I like Mary-Louis Parker, Helen Mirren plays a fun character and John Malkovich is always a treat when he gets to run around in a character with a few screws loose.

It’s a solid action movie from start to finish. They stretch the action to some unbelievable lengths on occasion, but it’s relatively real and they don’t go too far in the comic book direction. Hand to hand fights are done really well, the direction is nice and clean. The story isn’t insulting either so I can give this one a good recommendation.