‘Salt’ is Only for Those Who Don’t Mind the Familiar Flavor

The trailer for “Salt” asked us, “who is Salt?” Sadly, she’s someone you’ve seen countless times before.

Evelyn Salt, played by Angelina Jolie, is a sexy spy caught in a super-charged conflict of Russians, references to the Cold War, defectors and conspiracies. More importantly, she is a spy like every other spy we have ever seen.

Salt, who works for the Central Intelligence Agency, is accused of being a Russian spy. She’s constantly on the run and desperate to clear her name.

She comes off like a female Jason Bourne. Both Bourne and Salt are spies who have questionable backgrounds and seemingly unbelievable abilities, begging the question, is it better to fail in originality or succeed in mimicry?

But does over-predictability make “Salt” a bad movie? Not really. It’s full of fun, inspiring stunts, good dialogue and sharp twists. But in order to enjoy “Salt,” you will often need to suspend your sense of disbelief.

In one scene in particular, Salt has the ridiculous ability to jump onto a speeding semi-truck without falling off. These antics are nothing new to action films, but the stunts in “Salt” are even more absurd than the norm.

Jolie does a believable acting job in “Salt.” Watch closely and you’ll notice her subtle switch from CIA office clerk to all-out spy. A lesser actress may have made this transition painfully obvious, but Jolie does this pretty seamlessly.

The fast pace of “Salt” makes for an enjoyable ride. The action is non-stop and the movie only runs for 100 minutes. If you have nothing better to do and an extra dollar, then I recommend checking out “Salt.”