Phillip Noyce's Salt (2010)

Salt is a Bourne film on speed -- that's the best way to describe it. Evelyn Salt, as portrayed by Angelina Jolie, is a super-spy who spends the vast majority of the movie running, jumping, fighting, blowing stuff up, and generally causing all sorts of really cool looking mayhem. This is an action movie, through and through. The suspension of disbelief is mandatory here, because without it the audience won't last more than 15 minutes. Salt tells the story of CIA agent Evelyn Salt, who is set up (or is she?) by a mysterious Russian agent. According to him, Salt is in fact a Russian spy planning to assassinate the Russian president, providing Russia with provocation to launch their own attacks on the United States. Convoluted? Sure. Ridiculous? Maybe. However, once Jolie launches into action, the film never stops for a breather and what follows are some of the best action sequences in recent memory.

The fact that Salt succeeds despite a fairly ludicrous central plot is a testament to the prowess of Angelina Jolie. With the Tomb Raider films, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Wanted, and now Salt, Jolie has proven to be not only one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, but perhaps it's biggest action star as well. The fact that we are talking about a woman who probably tips the scales at 115 pounds is a testament to the charisma and power that Jolie conveys onscreen. You just believe that she could take on two armed secret service agents in a narrow hallway and leave them both unconscious. Angelina Jolie is one of the very few true movie stars left, and Salt would not work without her. Liev Shreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor play the agents assigned to catch Salt and both do a predictably good job. Shreiber, in particular, has really come into his own lately and it's nice to see him working with good material after the dreadful X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Aside from the breakneck pace and star power of Jolie, the greatest thing that Salt has going for it is the mystery of Evelyn Salt's true intentions. Is she really a Russian spy? Or is she playing both sides? Just who is she working for? The screenplay by Kurt Wimmer (Equilibrium) does a good job of keeping the audience guessing right up to the finale. Yes, the screenplay can get a bit ridiculous, but that's par for the course in this type of film. It should be stressed that this is not Syriana, or even a Bourne film. Phillip Noyce previously brought us both Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger and this time around he largely ignores the political machinations and double-crosses of the Jack Ryan films for a more action-focused entry. Nevertheless, the pedigree is there and Salt remains a damn fine political thriller. Noyce takes it to the next level, a level filled with more explosions, more car chases, and more hand-t0-hand combat. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea that's fine, but for the rest of us, this is the action movie of the summer, thus far. Enjoy Salt for what it is. This reviewer did. 4 out of 5 stars.