Day 28- Movie 25. Salt (2010)

Salt is pretty much everything you would expect from an action movie- there are car chases, gunfights, and explosions. The good news is that if you like action movies, you will get exactly what you expect. The bad news is that you will get exactly what you expect. I wanted more. I wanted Salt to give me something- anything- I had never seen before. It sadly stays too close to the typical, cliche-filled action genre. This is always good and bad. You can't really blame a film for staying true to its roots, but it is disappointing when a film tries to be good, but never really attempts to be great.

In fact, the biggest differentiator of this film is the fact that Angelina Jolie is the lead character. Females have traditionally not had much opportunity to play action movie heroines. Jolie had the opportunity in the Tomb Raider movies, but let's be honest, that wasn't because of her acting skills. Here, though, she has a traditional action movie vehicle to prove she can carry such a film. And carry it she does. It is genuinely exciting to watch an action movie with a female in the lead role. When this film was first written, it was for a male lead, and they approached Tom Cruise. When we declined the role, they rewrote it for Jolie. I'm glad Cruise turned it down. Jolie's presence is the best part of the entire film.

Here's my biggest problem with this movie- the story is just too hard to believe. Movies always ask us to suspend our disbelief, and I am typically good at doing that. However, this film just pushes that boundary too far. The plot ultimately becomes a bit silly and far-fetched. That is what prevents this from from being great.

Still, Salt is a solid, entertaining action movie. I enjoyed the cast, the characters, and the story (outlandish as it was). I would give this film a 7/10.

I wanted to briefly talk about 2010 in movies, because I think Salt is typical of the year in movies. I've been complaining all year about the quality of films. I admit that there have been some very good movies this year. I just think the general quality has been less this year. So many films were good, but just not good enough. There were too few films that I loved. Now, I've only seen about 45 movies in 2010, so there's still lots of films I've yet to see. Besides just a few great movies, this year has been leaving me disappointed. Anyone agree? Disagree?