Salt
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: July 23, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
29
Mixed:
11
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's gloriously absurd. This movie has holes in it big enough to drive the whole movie through. The laws of physics seem to be suspended here the same way as in a Road Runner cartoon. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Salt moves ever forward -- pushing, pushing, pushing its heroine to greater feats every minute. It doesn't stop for martinis, either shaken or stirred, or any other detours. The movie is lean and muscular, looking for action even in situations where a little sleight of hand might have done the trick. Read full review
85
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
Like its star, Salt is a spare and lean piece of work; it's everything a modern action movie should be, a picture made with confidence but not arrogance, one that believes so wholeheartedly in its outlandish plot twists that they come to make perfect alt-universe sense. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Corliss
She's (Jolie) got what no other Hollywood woman even tries for, and which is embodied among recent international stars perhaps only by Hong Kong action star Michelle Yeoh: feminismo. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
This is a daring, audacious and sometimes terrifying movie -- purely as a thrill ride, it's probably the summer's best offering so far. That doesn't mean it left me feeling entirely satisfied. There's an emptiness at the soul of Salt -- again, meaning both the movie and the character -- that's extremely disturbing, maybe on purpose. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
And really, who goes to summer action movies for cast-iron logic anyway? Or for plausible characters, for that matter? You go for brisk stunts expertly executed, for well-directed action that doesn't allow you to catch your breath and for one of the preeminent action stars of our time. Yes, that would be Angelina Jolie. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
A senseless blast. Read full review
80
SlateDana Stevens
With a woman-with THIS woman-all the invincible-spy clichés feel fresh and fun again. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazinePete Hammond
In a crackerjack and very lean 100 minutes, the lithe and physically dynamic Jolie burns up the screen and shows the boys how it's done. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
Fast-moving, exciting and contains more twists than a tunnel under Checkpoint Charlie. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Salt knows how to stay one step ahead of you in devious, if jaw-droppingly contrived, ways. The movie is fun, dammit. So who cares, really, if it's trash? Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Primed to keep your pulse racing so your brain will stop thinking, "WTF!" Go with the illogic or you'll miss the fun. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Like the "Bourne" franchise to which Noyce's film is indebted, Salt is a combination of pursuit, evasion, name-clearing and a reversal or two. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Salt's mechanical command of action is what makes it one of the most entertaining films of a summer thin on its once-abundant variety of cheap thrills. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
In a way, Phillip Noyce's film is the anti-"Inception"; it's never dazzling, but it's never confusing, either. It's a Bourne movie minus the exotic locations and sickening handheld camera, and its head spy has way better lips than Matt Damon. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
It's popcorn pulp that collided -- at 100 mph, natch -- with a far more sober and crafty grown-up movie. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The action scenes are imaginative and elaborate without seeming fake. Nothing is belabored, and the stakes never stop escalating. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The only thing missing from Salt is Lotte Lenya's Rosa Klebb with her steel blade-tipped shoes from "From Russia With Love." Come to think of it, the Russian defector here does indeed kill with steel-blade shoes. Nice touch. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJohn Anderson
It is fun: Watching Ms. Jolie do her own acrobatics, under the direction of her longtime stunt coordinator Simon Crane, is a kick, especially in an era when our knowledge of special effects have so diluted the vicarious thrills of high-wire moviemaking. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The movie has an air of momentousness, yet most of it is conventional, though well-directed, pop mayhem. Read full review
70
VarietyJustin Chang
As a fierce superspy and mistress of many disguises, Jolie represents the one indisputably kickass element in this brisk, professionally assembled but finally shrug-inducing thriller. Read full review
70
Village VoiceKarina Longworth
From the start, this character plays to the star's strengths, merging subject and object, warrior and victim, ass-kicker and damsel-in-distress. And hero and villain. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's nail-biting good fun, sporting some très haute couture nails. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Salt is hooey, but in a medium in which hooey is the stock-in-trade, it's effective hooey, and hooey with admirable craft, and, most of all, breezy hooey. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Salt is more than mere seasoning; it's a full bouillabaisse comprised of bits and pieces of James Bond, "The Manchurian Candidate," "The Bourne Identity," TV's "24," and the Nelson DeMille novel "The Charm School." Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Salt offers a sloppy concoction of story elements from '70s espionage classics - the sinister black ops of "Three Days of the Condor," the nuclear dread of "Fail-Safe," the political-assassination scenarios of "The Day of the Jackal." Read full review
63
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
What Noyce and company don't seem to realize is that there's a huge difference between a superspy and a superhuman. Read full review
63
PremiereJohn DeVore
As Jolie's closest professional confidant, Liev Schreiber is his usual excellent, formidable self. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Salt goes down easy, but it's lacking both nourishment and flavor. Read full review
60
EmpireWilliam Thomas
Enjoyable enough nonsense, even if it barely cracks a smile. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
Salt is a movie constantly painting itself into corners then tromping out with arbitrary twists and action distractions. Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
It's still a short-enough time-killer of a thriller -- not the worst of the summer, but a long way from the current state of the art. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The considerable talents of a strong supporting cast, which includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber and Andre Braugher, go untapped. The only distinguishing feature to this by-the-book thriller is Jolie, who gets pummeled as good as she pummels. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Jolie doesn't seem entirely bored with the routine. She has a laugh or two at her bionic image: Evelyn is a woman who uses a maxi pad as a bandage. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
She is the prime special effect, and a reminder that even in an era of technological overkill, movie stars matter. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
Salt contains many conflicts: intelligence vs. counterintelligence, blond Angelina vs raven-haired and . . . well, that's about it. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie Punter
For all its action thrills, Salt is relatively humourless fare. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
Suffice it to say that it's something that would make Austin Powers blush, baby, but it's not supposed to be funny. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
There's one nifty and original sequence--an assassination attempt during a state funeral where the pipe organs in the church all go haywire--but otherwise, this is crushingly generic. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith Uhlich
Jolie must eventually become a comic-book supergirl impervious to explosions and bullets, all the better to set up a "Bourne"-like franchise by the final fade-out. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Angelina Jolie is definitely worth her salt as an action hero, but Salt is never worth its Angelina Jolie. Read full review
25
ObserverRex Reed
Salt is about as believable as a secret training program for military pilots consisting entirely of kangaroos in flight helmets. But it must be said that the star carries her load admirably. Read full review
More From This Movie

65 Critic Reviews

6.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL