In much the same way as one can talk about 3D from the perspective of the world before Avatar and the world after Avatar, it’s hard not to judge the action film genre in terms of Inception. Salt marks the first post-Inception action movie, and while it is a throwback to the spy thrillers of the 90s and functions surprisingly well under those terms, one can’t help but feel how shallow the whole exercise remains. If all you want is to see Angelina Jolie doing ludicrous stunts and kicking wholesale ass, then this is completely the film for you. Just don’t expect it to make you work for it… at all.

Salt tells the story of an assassination attempt on the Russian Prime Minister while he is visiting America as a pallbearer for the recently deceased vice president. The CIA gets tipped off that it will be a Russian spy committing the murder in an effort to destroy US/Russia relations, and, if you’ve seen even 5 seconds of the film’s marketing, you know that the name of the Russian spy is supposedly one Evelyn Salt. Is she a spy? Is she innocent? Is there something more complicated going on? I think you can tell where it’s going from there.

Liev Schrieber and Chiwetel Ejiofor both acquit themselves admirably, though the script by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium, UltraViolet) doesn’t give them a ton to work with. Originally written as a vehicle for Tom Cruise, Salt’s gender was changed in the middle of pre-production, and it makes Evelyn a much tougher character than is usual for a female lead. The story draws a lot of its originality from that distinction, and I think it would have been completely forgettable with a male secret agent. You also completely believe Jolie’s performance in the part, and she does a lot of subtle things between the words that allow for the audience to empathize with an otherwise militarily strict focus. Should this turn into a Bourne-esque franchise, I’m very interested in where she will take the character next.

Where the movie stumbles a bit is in the nature of tone. All the pre-requisite tinted and sporadically cut flashbacks are here, but they border on the cheesy far too frequently. The dialogue is crisp for the most part, and the characters are believable, but every time there’s an action sequence they throw realism completely out the window. I don’t think jumping off a highway bride and riding the roof of a semi truck is a skill that black ops agents practice during their training. It’s like every time they felt attention start to slip, they brought in another ridiculous chase sequence, and the constant assault on the film’s own credibility doesn’t do it any favors.

Extreme suspension of disbelief aside, the pace of the film is incredibly efficient. You never feel cheated out of an answer

you don’t get, while managing to keep moving through a metric ton of exposition. By the end of each scene, you know who everyone is, what they can contribute to the plot, and what their opinions are on the ever expanding national security crisis. The movie doesn’t allow you to get lost, hammering point after point into your head until you can’t help but agree with its sense of logic. Even when the twists get too severe, you accept them as something that works even without the evidence to back it up. The ride is the point, and it will leave you breathless and bombarded. Will it stick with you for more than an hour after the credits roll? I would be very surprised. Is there room for a classically executed spy thriller in the current movie landscape? You decide.

Synopsis:

As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who is Salt?”