Like 'Hanna', this is formulaically disappointing

Rating: 4/10 (28 December 2011)

Like Hanna before it, this movie starts well, and has just about enough action to carry it through to the end. What both films lack, however, is a conceptually-meaningful story to keep the validity of the idea alive.
It seems a formula has now been developed for a certain breed of films - that have (comparatively) intricate plots, hi-octane action, and the star-studded cast and big budget to realise the project.
But it seems pointless to me to make a movie that is ultimately so ludicrous that it would be surprising if anyone wants to watch it a second time.
I love spy films, and I love action movies, and I REALLY love plot twists. Salt has all of these elements, and Angelina Jolie, to her credit, performs well within the role. But the plot, when fully revealed, is neither believable or really very inventive, and the final plot twists render the whole previous story rather ridiculous.
Both Hanna and Salt deal with children who have been conditioned to grow into superspies, and yet I have to admit that however disappointed I was at the end of Hanna, that film does work hard to make the story more believable, grounding some of the set pieces within what look like real situations and places. Salt, on the other hand, jumps the shark and seems to take pride in how it can push the boundaries of incredulity with every successive twist.
Hanna left me disappointed because the weight of the content at the beginning was quite high (the situation of the trained assassin escaping capture and going on the run, and having to cope with all of the psychological trauma it unleashes), but runs dry by the end - Cate Blanchett's killing signifying the death of the believability of the story and the emotional investment I had in the fate of Hanna.
Salt disappointed me on a whole new level because it began looking like a David Mamet film and yet ended more resemblant of Equilibrium or V for Vendetta, yet both those film's conceptual integrities remained sturdy throughout, whereas Salt's is sacrificed in favour of outlandish action.
If in the future there are more films made in this specific genre (spy action chase, you might call it), I hope they are a lot more intellectually fulfilling and daring (think Ronin) and less formulaic.