WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
I’m not going to be coy about this, I have been a massive fan of Angelina Jolie’s for a very long time! As I’ve said before, I had absolutely no idea who The Eternals were before watching the film but that didn’t mean I was any less excited about Jolie’s casting. I promise to not make the following an absolute gush fest. You know, I may actually find something I don’t like…
Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
I’ll be honest, I have only see this film once before, back when it was released in 2004. I think it’s due to this, and the fact that I was 12 years old, that I’d remembered Jolie playing the Sky Captain instead of Jude Law. Disappointingly, she doesn’t actually turn up until about an hour into the film so I actually started to think I had remembered the film extremely incorrectly, and she is only on-screen for about 9 minutes in total. In my opinion, even for that tiny amount of the film – she’s still the best character in the film. Maybe this is because her character of Frankie is the complete opposite of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Polly Perkins. You know, a bad-ass commander instead of a borderline ditzy reporter…
Salt
So, I got a little bit confused when I watched this film because there’s no trigger before Jolie’s character of Evelyn Salt turns up at the hotel and changes her whole appearance. I’m guessing she has been aware the whole time and had been lying about being a Russian spy instead of being a sleeper agent. However, all of us who have seen films of Jolie’s like Tomb Raider and Wanted know she’s a pretty decent action actress and that for me is what’s great about this film. When she’s blonde, Salt is an unassuming desk clerk at the CIA having not been in the field for a while and the fact that she doesn’t land the jump on to the lorry perfectly in her escape is a big plus for me. Then when the contact lens are out and her hair is black, she becomes this ass-kicking super spy.
Girl Interrupted
You ever want to see a powerful introduction to a character – watch this film! The switch between the calm, ‘I don’t give a f***’ attitude that Angelina’s character of Lisa arrives with and the harder ‘where’s Jamie?’ is like night and day. I think people would try to compare this film to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and therefore relate Lisa to McMurphy. Don’t get me wrong, I get how the comparison can be made because you’ve got take the two films as completely different even though there are similar plot wheels. Take Daisy’s suicide for example. There is a similar moment towards the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest when Billy slits his own throat. The difference however is that McMurphy is heartbroken by Billy’s suicide and attempts to kill Nurse Ratched whereas Lisa seems to only think of herself, leaving Daisy to hang there. Lisa does, however, possibly have one of the best lines in the whole film ‘And don’t point your finger at crazy people!’
Honorary Mentions
Where do I start? Before taking on the role of Thena in The Eternals, Angelina had already had a flourishing career. From Hackers where she met first husband Jonny Lee Miller to Mr and Mrs Smith where she met third husband Brad Pitt, she’s done it all. Including taking on the role of Core Design’s character Lara Croft in both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (which I still prefer both over Alicia Vikander’s adaptation).
