Entertaining Action Thriller But Die Hard Becomes Die Never; Also the Plot Development Gets a Little Unbelievable

Rating: 6/10 (12 September 2010)

When Bruce Willis makes crash landings in the original "Die Hard" movie, at least he winces in pain and it takes him a few moments to regain composure. In "Salt", when Angelina Jolie jumps consecutively onto six moving trucks on the freeway, she's flying right up and instantly running at Olympic record pace, sort of like the original Terminator except sporting lipstick. Throughout the movie, she decks secret service agents faster than they can graduate out of combat training if she's not pushing out of moving vehicles going 70 mph while wearing handcuffs, although the officers forgot to put the cuffs on behind her. They put them on in front of her leaving her with a slight chance to get away. I guess the point of this movie: don't try this at home.
The essential plot I think is quite compelling, and I don't want to give too much away but only to say that nothing is at it seems until the very end. But I think I would have liked more of the mystery behind the story than all the long action sequences which I felt undermined a potentially complex idea. These days in filmmaking, it seems that the longer action sequences displace story development. There are flashbacks to a greater story but a lot of it was more confusing than insightful.
After a brief prelude in which Jolie is interrogated and tortured by North Korean military agents, the movie begins, presumably about a year later, with a Russian requesting asylum with the United States via the CIA. Agent Evelyn Salt (Jolie) interrogates the defector who tells a strange story about how the Russians infiltrate the United States with moles programmed and brainwashed during childhood. Only seconds after the interview is over, the defector is killing CIA agents and escaping the headquarters. And so is Salt. In fact, the agency is more determined to get Salt than the defector, which is one of the many little glaring plot problems that occur during this movie. The non-stop action begins here, fueled by several plots and subplots.
I think Salt is a decent film but not a great one. At least what it does successfully is keep you guessing. You're not sure what Salt is doing, where she's going, or even whose side she's on which keeps you at the edge of your seat. By movies end, I still had a lot of unanswered questions that were not explained through the action sequences. I also realized at one point, Jolie doesn't say much after the initial interview until the very end. It's hard not to like Jolie but I think she should have requested a bit of a better script with a little bit less chasing, gunning and blowing things up. Jolie can also act, not just chase.