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 gregarious charm, galloping energy and the stars'
thermonuclear screen chemistry."
[53] With box office takings of $478.2 million worldwide,
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
was the seventh-highest grossing picture of the year and remained
Jolie's highest-grossing live-action film for the next decade.
[39][54]
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. Although the biracial Pearl had personally chosen Jolie for the role,
[55] the casting drew racial criticism and accusations of
blackface.
[56] The resulting performance was widely praised; Ray Bennett of
The Hollywood Reporter described it as "well-measured and moving," played "with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent."
[57] She received nominations for a
Golden Globe Award and a
Screen Actors Guild 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, taking in revenues of $196.4 million worldwide.
[39]
By 2008, Jolie was considered the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, earning $15–$20 million per film.
[58][59]
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.
[60] She starred alongside
James McAvoy and
Morgan Freeman in the action film
Wanted (2008), which proved an international success, earning $341.4 million worldwide.
[39] The film received predominantly favorable reviews; writing for
The New York Times,
Manohla Dargis
noted that Jolie was "perfectly cast as a super-scary, seemingly amoral
assassin," adding 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."
[61]
Jolie next took the lead role in
Clint Eastwood's drama
Changeling (2008).
[62] 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.
Chicago Tribune critic
Michael Phillips
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."
[63] She received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a
BAFTA Award, and an
Academy Award for Best Actress. 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 began appearing in fewer
films, later explaining that her motivation to be an actress had stemmed
from her mother's acting ambitions.
[64] Her first film in two years was the thriller
Salt (2010), 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. With revenues of $293.5 million,
Salt became an international success.
[39] The film received generally positive reviews, with Jolie's performance in particular earning praise;
Empire
critic William Thomas remarked, "When it comes to selling incredible,
crazy, death-defying antics, Jolie has few peers in the action
business."
[65]
Jolie starred opposite
Johnny Depp in the thriller
The Tourist
(2010). The film was a critical failure, though Roger Ebert defended
Jolie's performance, stating that she "does her darndest" and "plays her
femme fatale with flat-out, drop-dead sexuality."
[66]
Despite the poor critical reception and a slow start at the North
American box office, the film went on to gross a respectable $278.3
million worldwide,
[39] cementing Jolie's appeal to international audiences.
[67] 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.
[68][69]
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