SALT - A Modern Action Film

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2010)

"Salt" may start off with some clunky storytelling, but once the action takes off (which it doesn't take too long to do), it's a senseless joyride, finding a niche style that fits nicely between "Bourne"-style realism and "Mission Impossible" inanity (yes, a mask is used at one point in the movie). Of course, the driving force is Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. Salt is altogether a static character, but shifts in narrative constantly make our view of her dynamic, not letting us know whether to pin her as hero or antihero, and Jolie plays this ambiguity to perfection. The movie itself isn't perfect, though - to me, occasional plot holes made it more confusing than "Inception," and the idea of a Cold War carry-over in this day and age is somewhat laughable. Still, the movie plays its thrills right, and character of Salt fulfills what she was written to be - a bona fide action star.