Before there was CGI, there was the CIA.  And the FBI. And the KGB.

And back then, the organizations with those initials were responsible for our spy thrillers.  They renew their rivalry in the new Angelina Jolie thriller Salt, and fittingly, the movie is a throwback to days when stunts – not special effects – drove an action movie.

 Salt is Evelyn Salt, a CIA officer whose life is turned upside down when a Russian defector walks into her office and begins telling stories of Russian sleeper agents trained from childhood to infiltrate the United Statesand assassinate our leaders when the time is right.  The question is posed: is Salt one of those sleeper agents? Is she on our side? And whatever the truth may be:  does she even know it?

Salt goes on the run, and the action begins.  She balances herself on ledges, she jumps from a bridge onto the back of a moving truck, she does acrobatics on staircases – and if the press is to be believed – Jolie did a lot of it herself.  At first, I scoffed at the idea when I heard Jolie would do her own stunts.  In my head, I imagined her past films like video game-based Lara Croft: Tomb Raider or the comic book-based Wanted, where she dangled her body outside of moving cars, driving and shooting at the same time.  I didn’t think she could do that. 

This she could do.  And that’s not a slam or a putdown.  Normal humans can’t do any of the stuff in Tomb Raider or Wanted.  Director Phillip Noyce has staged action scenes worthy of classic spy thrillers.  Jolie follows in the footsteps of spy-movie heroines like.. um… like… um.  Well, like nobody.  Plenty of treacherous femme fatales come to mind when you think of Cold War era spy flicks, but heroines?  As much of a throwback as Salt is, it also make some strides.  Salt is clearly intended to be a new action movie franchise, and there aren’t that many like it headlined by a woman.  In fact, Salt was written for man, but Jolie proves a good actor in good, athletic shape is a good actor in good athletic shape, regardless of gender.

While we wonder if Salt will always land on her feet, we also wonder where she’ll end up in life. Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer keeps us guessing throughout.  We’re never sure exactly what Salt is up to or what her motivations are.

Can a throwback like Salt capture the attention of a movie public more conditioned to 3-D glasses and computer generated effects?  It’s possible – coincidentally, a real-life Russian sleeper cell story has made headlines in the last couple of weeks.  And let’s face it; it’s getting a lot of attention because accused spy Anna Chapman is kind of cute.  Angelina Jolie?  She ain’t that bad to look at, so the timing could be right.   Superficial reasoning aside, audiences can sprinkle Salt into their summer movie menu and be satisfied.

Salt (2010)
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: July 23, 2010  (Showtimes and Tickets)
Studio: Columbia Pictures