There is a story about how when producers asked Angelina Jolie to be one of the femme fatales in a James Bond installment, the actress reportedly said no and added that she’d much rather play Agent 007 instead. People don’t always get what they want but the role of CIA Agent Evelyn Salt, who while interrogating a defector gets accused of being a Russian spy, is as close Jolie may ever get to playing an undercover agent. Salt is like the Jason Bourne movies where the action never lets up as Jolie’s character evades local law enforcement and government agents throughout Washington attempting to stop a sinister plan to bring down America from the inside. Every once in a while, though not for long, Salt takes a breather recalling her shady past living in Russia and trying to recount how she got into this situation in the first place. There is no denying I can see where the climax is heading in terms of learning the identity of the “real” Russian agent. It is, however, comforting, even if this is just a fast-paced action movie, to know America has someone like Evelyn Salt possibly working for our side. A little “salt” with one’s meal never hurt anyone. The same can be said with this film.
