Salt

The spy genre seems to have peaked during The Cold War, as lines were drawn and methods and technology were developed in committing espionage. The enemy was apparent and so was what was at stake. But post-Cold War, post-9/11, things are no longer so clear. The geo-political picture is much more ambiguous, with not nations but religions, ethnicities, and identities driving action. We aren’t ever sure who the bad guys are anymore, and we’re often shaken by terrorist acts that are horrific, and yet have underlying ideological power. This is in no way an endorsement of any kind of terrorism, but to say that while two decades ago we knew how the lines were drawn, now we are not exactly sure who is right and who is wrong, or what side we should take as the world is remade in the wake of disasters and threats.

Spy films and the spycraft portrayed therein were the draws in themselves, as we watched how spies do what they do, and we hung on to twists and turns of story. These films may have been made as such to alleviate some of the anxiety of knowing that the execution of MAD (mutually assured destruction) was just the push of a button away.

This is where Salt begins, and smartly so. While it is set in the present or near-future (at the start of the film an MRI scan is used to determine truthfulness, and while I’ve read some papers that say that this is going to happen, I’m not sure if it is already being applied) it hearkens back to old Cold War conflicts and draws upon many familiar tropes and sequences. Salt is not original or unique in its machinations and movements, and yet, taking from the body of work that it builds upon, it delivers some fresh, new, and exciting moments, with a definite “wow” factor to it.

The titular character, played by Angelina Jolie, is a CIA agent trained in all kinds of kick-ass-ery. We get a glimpse of her various weapons specializations and skill sets on a digital screen before they are allowed to explode onscreen. Accused by a Russian defector of being a sleeper agent sent to kill an important target (the Russian president), Salt is forced to go on the run with her friends and the rest of the American government chasing her.

It’s a pretty simple set-up and it powers the film from start to end. At question is Salt’s identity. Is she a sleeper agent? Is it a false accusation? Is it possible that she’s been brain-washed and she doesn’t know what she’s doing? Or is she playing everybody, and has she gone on the run because her cover’s been blown? After an opening fifteen minutes or so of extensive talk and questioning, things start blowing up and for almost the rest of the movie no words leave Salt’s mouth unless absolutely necessary to maintaining her cover.

We’re kept in the dark as the film progresses and makes turns both familiar and surprising. There are moments that pay homage to other spy flicks: for example, the scene where Salt climbs out a window and makes her way across ledges references the original Bourne film. And there are a good number of chases. Where this film is successful is in making these familiar elements exciting by imbuing them with new touches.

Salt gets chased down a highway, but instead of being in a car chased by other cars, she runs atop tanker trucks and leaps over traffic in trying to make her escape. She drives a car using a cop and a tazer (trust me, you just have to see that one to believe it). Amazing sequences in a cathedral and other settings make this a supremely satisfying action flick.

That being said, there were times when the action, at the hand-to-hand combat level, was wanting. The chases were well directed, and so were the shootouts and the special effects stuff. The problem, as with a lot of contemporary action directing, came in the use of shaky-cam. Rather than making you feel excited, it’s liable to make you feel dizzy. Once again I advocate the idea that if lots of great stuff is happening onscreen, you don’t have to go around shaking the camera.

It’s a shame, really, because there are some superbly choreographed sequences here, and Jolie’s showing off the kind of agility she put on display in the Tomb Raider films here. The movie never lingers too much on her body, never resorts to Michael Bay-money shots of women in skimpy clothing holding alluring poses. The sexiness comes through Salt’s efficiency, the cool manner in which she does things, the way that she controls her body and her emotions as she executes amazing moves.

I’m wondering if it should be a complaint, but I was able to guess where the movie was going. This might be because it plays within familiar narrative ground and doesn’t really attempt at some new kind of story. The story’s pretty far out at the start, and once you buy into its premise, you kind of just have to accept all the other craziness that the movie throws at you. In the beginning the defector talks about a school of Russian kids trained to replace American kids and serve as sleeper agents in key positions of the American government. This is a little too conspiracy-crazy, but again, if you don’t buy into it, then you can’t buy into the rest of the flick. And the other betrayals and revelations are all there as just part of a ride that we are supposed to sit back and enjoy.

Where it works though, maybe not so much in how well it surprises the viewer of what happens, but rather how things happen. We are expecting certain betrayals, but when they occur, they occur with such visual excitement that they provide a real jolt. An example, without spoiling anything, would be when Salt is captured. You know that here, as in any other movie where our lead has been captured, they have a plan, allowed themselves to be captured on purpose, and will get themselves out of it. And yet, when Salt executes her plan, it’s still surprising and exciting.

The emotional undercurrent of the film has to do with Salt’s love of her husband, an arachnologist. Salt is defined not so much by nationality as by love, and this is one of the interesting points the movie decides to pursue. It’s not a rah-rah-rah America, nor is it an America-is-an-evil-empire statement, but it brings things to the level of the personal. The scenes that establish how she meets and falls in love with her husband fall into the realm of cheese, but it seems that there isn’t anywhere else to go with them, and the film is smart in keeping these scenes to a minimum. They are important to define motivations, but once they have done their job, they cut away and bring us back to the big action sequences.

And really, more than anything that’s what this movie is about. But it brings these action sequences with a definite sense of style. It’s no surprise that director Phillip Noyce has helmed a number of spy-thrillers in his day, and with this entry he’s showing that he can run with the Bournes, Bonds, and Jack Ryans (some of whose movies he directed), while pushing things in a new direction with Salt.

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