Random Movie: Salt (2010)

In the genesis of most action movies, I can’t figure developing the plot matters much (other than The Expendables). It seems that most action oriented movies are just big, explosive set pieces tied around a loose narrative fiber holding things together. At least though we have an idea of why our action star is running around jumping onto cars and getting into gunfights whether it is for revenge or to save a life or whatever. Salt makes no pretense that it is an action movie first and foremost, even though that means that we are watching action for the hell of it with no idea of why.

The titular character, Evelyn Salt, is a relatively normal CIA agent until one day a Russian defector walks into her office and names Salt as a deep-cover Russian spy. Salt quickly dismisses the notion but her superiors are seemingly convinced after the proclamation by the former Soviet thug with little other evidence against her. Salt runs in an effort to find her husband but then changes course to head to NYC, possibly with the intent to kill the visiting Russian president.

At the very least, everything is fast moving here as after a brief prologue and maybe ten minutes in the present day, Salt is on the run from the CIA. But other than her quick rebuttal that the Russian is lying, we really get no other information about Salt and her intentions. Is she really a Russian spy, pissed because her cover was blown? Is she an innocent woman who sets out to clear her name and save her husband? Did she double cross the Russians and is now set out to stop the attack? Who knows. The movie doesn’t bother explaining things until the final ten minutes or so.

In the meantime though, we do get the goods that a decent action thriller can deliver, namely in double crosses, car chases, and gun fights. The best way to classify Salt is as a Jason Bourne movie, only starring Angelina Jolie and with no where near the twisty narrative. It is not often do you see an action film starring a beautiful woman as the lead and fortunately Jolie takes on the standard action movie staples quite comfortably. She has a tough and determined persona so the events that occur are not laughable as if a lesser actress had taken the role. I’m not trying to be sexist but imagine Kathryn Heigl as an highly trained and deadly CIA agent and you’ll get my point.

Liev Schrieber and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the lead agents assigned to take Salt down are decent enough but their characters are laughably derivative of any authoritative figure from these types of movies (even though the movie has barely paused to contemplate Salt’s guilt or innocence). The casting could have been done better however as a certain actor’s presence tips the hand of the final act reveal. I won’t give spoilers but needless to say, it isn’t hard to guess Salt’s endgame about halfway into the movie. At least that is if we were trusted with the reason for Salt’s activities but whatever.

Director Phillip Noyce off of Kurt Wimmer‘s script takes the standard political/action thriller mold and reverses it. Whereas Noyce’s Clear and Present Danger (a favorite of mine) is a movie about the political game of chicken with some action sprinkled in, Salt is the opposite of that. There are political motivations but those aspects are never really fleshed out and instead just act as the backbone of the movie (as much as there is). But that’s not important to the enjoyment of the film as the non-stop sequences are almost good enough to forget any shortcomings the script might have. As the polar opposite of The Expendables, Salt whittles down the pesky exposition and character moments to the point that they might as well have not included any. But it is incredibly entertaining all the same even if you don’t know if you’re rooting on an enemy to the United States or not.