Angelina JolieneeVoight, formerlyJolie Pitt{, born June 4, 1975) mainstream recognition
Four films featuring Jolie were released in 2004. In Taking Lives, Jolie starred as an FBI profiler who was summoned to assist Montreal police in hunting down a serial killer. The film received mixed reviews; The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt, critic, concluded that Jolie plays a crucial role. It feels like she is doing something she already did, but she adds an element of surprise. There is an unmistakable thrill and glamour. “[60] Jolie made a brief appearance as a fighter pilot in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, a science fiction adventure shot entirely with actors in front of a bluescreen, and voiced her first family film, the DreamWorks animation Shark Tale. Her supporting role as Queen Olympias in Oliver Stone’s Alexander, about the life of Alexander the Great, was met with mixed reception, particularly concerning her Slavic accent. Stone said that the film was a failure commercially in North America. Despite widespread disapproval over the portrayal of Alexander’s bisexuality [61], it was a success internationally and earned $167.3 million.
In 2005, Jolie returned to major box office success with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, in which she starred opposite Brad Pitt as a bored married couple who find out that they are both secret assassins. The film received mixed reviews, but was generally lauded for the chemistry between the two leads; Star Tribune critic Colin Covert noted, “While the story feels haphazard, the movie Gets by on his gregarious charm, galloping energie and the stars’ thermonuclear screen chemistry. “[62] Mr. & Mrs. Smith had a worldwide box office take of $478.2 millions. It was the seventh highest-grossing picture of the year, and it remained Jolie’s highest-grossing live-action film for the next decade. [48][63]
Following a supporting role as the neglected wife of a CIA officer in Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd (2006), Jolie starred as Mariane Pearl in the documentary-style drama A Mighty Heart (2007). Based on Pearl’s memoir of the same name, the film chronicles the kidnapping and murder of her husband, The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, in Pakistan. Jolie was chosen by Pearl, a biracial woman, for the role. However[64] racial criticisms and accusations of blackface were levelled at the casting. The result was highly praised by Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter. He described it as “well-measured” and “moving,” and said that she used a hard accent and had a firm grasp of the role. “[66] She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award. Jolie also played a shape-shifting seductress, Grendel’s mother, in the epic Beowulf (2007), created through motion capture. The film was critically and commercially well-received, earning $196.4 million worldwide. [48]
By 2008, Jolie was considered the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, earning $15-$20 million per film. [67][68] While other actresses had been forced to take salary cuts in recent years, Jolie’s perceived box office appeal allowed her to command as much as $20 million-plus a percentage. [69] She was a star alongside James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and the action movie Wanted (2008). It earned $341.4 million around the world. 48] The film received mostly positive reviews. Manohla Dargis, The New York Times, wrote about it. Jolie was “perfectly cast” as a super-scary and seemingly moral character. assassin” and that she “cuts the kind of disciplinarian figure who can bring boys of all ages to their knees or at least into their theater seats. ”
Jolie as Christine Collins, on the set for Changeling in Oct 2007.
Jolie next took the lead role in Clint Eastwood’s drama Changeling (2008). Based in part on the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, the film centers on Christine Collins, who is reunited with her kidnapped son in 1928 Los Angeles, only to realize the boy is an imposter. Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune critic noted, “Jolie really shines in the calm before the storm, the scenes when one patronizing male authority figure after another belittles her at their peril.” She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. [73][74][75][76] Jolie also voiced the DreamWorks animation Kung Fu Panda (2008), the first work in a major family franchise, later reprising her voice role in the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).
After her mother’s death in 2007, Jolie appeared in fewer films, Later, she explained that her motivation to become an actor was rooted from her mother’s acting ambitions. Her first film in two years was the 2010 thriller Salt, in which she starred as a CIA agent who goes on the run after she is accused of being a KGB sleeper agent. Originally written as a male character with Tom Cruise attached to star, agent Salt underwent a gender change after a Columbia Pictures executive suggested Jolie for the role. Salt was an international success with $293.5 million in revenues. The film received mostly positive reviews. Empire was particularly proud of Jolie’s performance. magazine critic William Thomas remarked, “When it comes to selling Jolie is a rare example of insane, defying death and crazy antics. Action business
Johnny Depp starred alongside Jolie in The Tourist, a thriller. (2010) Roger Ebert defends the film, despite it being a failure in critical circles. Jolie’s performance, stating that she “does her darndest” and “plays her femme fatale with flat-out, drop-dead sexuality. ” Despite poor critical reviews and slow beginnings at the North American box-office, the film managed to gross a respectable $278.3million worldwide, cementing Jolie’s appeal to international audiences. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance, which gave rise to speculation that it had been given merely to ensure her high-profile presence at the awards ceremony.