Salt

Running with the tagline: "Who is Salt?" the films plan is to present an action hero who's motives are never entirely clear. While used to good effect in pulling a couple of neat twists, it did leave my sympathies wavering which rendered much of the action detached and cold.

Always a fan of the lazy route I'm going throw caution to the wind and compare this spy based actioner to Bond and Bourne. I got the distinct feeling it wanted very much to feel like the latter, being down and dirty and lo fi, but with it's cold war nostalgia, global scale threats, hilarious comic book origins and preternatural foresight it fell far more readily toward the former. Not criminal alone I suppose, I like a bit of Bond as much as the next man, but lacking the charisma of the character and the investment of firm motivations it all felt a little too removed.

I should explain the foresight thing. Q always provided 007 with precisely the tools his mission would need, no matter how far off plan said mission became. This is sort of accepted as Bond being a master of his resources, but is essentially an in joke within the never-so-serious franchise. Similarly Salt always has what she needs to hand, but unlike Bourne who reacts to known stimuli, she knows everything she will require. She knows as much as the writer knows meaning she is essentially a super hero.

Despite precognition and often stepping firmly onto the side of the ludicrous, the action is occasionally satisfying and I did like the attention it pays to Jolie's shifting appearance (this is not a euphemism for titillation). Certainly not the worst slice of espionage I've been exposed to, just not nearly as smart as it thinks it is and lacking the strong central character it needed to actually excel in it's chosen genre.