Chicago Sun-Times

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.

A review by Roger Ebert for Chicago Sun-Times around 2010-07-21

The Hollywood Reporter

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.

A review by Kirk Honeycutt for The Hollywood Reporter around 2010-07-21

Time

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.

A review by Richard Corliss for Time around 2010-07-21

Salon

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.

A review by Andrew O'Hehir for Salon around 2010-07-21

Los Angeles Times

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.

A review by Kenneth Turan for Los Angeles Times around 2010-07-21

New York Magazine (Vulture)

A senseless blast.

A review by David Edelstein for New York Magazine (Vulture) around 2010-07-21

Slate

With a woman-with THIS woman-all the invincible-spy clichés feel fresh and fun again.

A review by Dana Stevens for Slate around 2010-07-21

New York Daily News

Fast-moving, exciting and contains more twists than a tunnel under Checkpoint Charlie.

A review by Joe Neumaier for New York Daily News around 2010-07-21

Entertainment Weekly

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?

A review by Owen Gleiberman for Entertainment Weekly around 2010-07-21

Rolling Stone

Primed to keep your pulse racing so your brain will stop thinking, "WTF!" Go with the illogic or you'll miss the fun.

A review by Peter Travers for Rolling Stone around 2010-07-21

Chicago Tribune

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.

A review by Michael Phillips for Chicago Tribune around 2010-07-21

The A.V. Club

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.

A review by Keith Phipps for The A.V. Club around 2010-07-21

Miami Herald

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.

A review by Connie Ogle for Miami Herald around 2010-07-21

Washington Post

It's popcorn pulp that collided -- at 100 mph, natch -- with a far more sober and crafty grown-up movie.

A review by Ann Hornaday for Washington Post around 2010-07-21

San Francisco Chronicle

The action scenes are imaginative and elaborate without seeming fake. Nothing is belabored, and the stakes never stop escalating.

A review by Mick LaSalle for San Francisco Chronicle around 2010-07-21

Christian Science Monitor

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.

A review by Peter Rainer for Christian Science Monitor around 2010-07-21

Wall Street Journal

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.

A review for Wall Street Journal around 2010-07-21

The New Yorker

The movie has an air of momentousness, yet most of it is conventional, though well-directed, pop mayhem.

A review by David Denby for The New Yorker around 2010-07-21

Variety

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.

A review by Justin Chang for Variety around 2010-07-21

Village Voice

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.

A review for Village Voice around 2010-07-21

Austin Chronicle

It's nail-biting good fun, sporting some très haute couture nails.

A review by Marc Savlov for Austin Chronicle around 2010-07-21

Portland Oregonian

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.

A review by Shawn Levy for Portland Oregonian around 2010-07-21

Philadelphia Inquirer

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."

A review by Steven Rea for Philadelphia Inquirer around 2010-07-21

New Orleans Times-Picayune

What Noyce and company don't seem to realize is that there's a huge difference between a superspy and a superhuman.

A review by Mike Scott for New Orleans Times-Picayune around 2010-07-21

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Salt goes down easy, but it's lacking both nourishment and flavor.

A review by Joe Williams for St. Louis Post-Dispatch around 2010-07-21

Empire

Enjoyable enough nonsense, even if it barely cracks a smile.

A review by William Thomas for Empire around 2010-07-21

Tampa Bay Times

Salt is a movie constantly painting itself into corners then tromping out with arbitrary twists and action distractions.

A review by Steve Persall for Tampa Bay Times around 2010-07-21

Orlando Sentinel

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.

A review by Roger Moore for Orlando Sentinel around 2010-07-21

USA Today

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.

A review by Claudia Puig for USA Today around 2010-07-21

Boston Globe

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.

A review by Wesley Morris for Boston Globe around 2010-07-21

The New York Times

She is the prime special effect, and a reminder that even in an era of technological overkill, movie stars matter.

A review by A.O. Scott for The New York Times around 2010-07-21

New York Post

Salt contains many conflicts: intelligence vs. counterintelligence, blond Angelina vs raven-haired and . . . well, that's about it.

A review by Kyle Smith for New York Post around 2010-07-21

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

For all its action thrills, Salt is relatively humourless fare.

A review by Jennie Punter for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) around 2010-07-21

Arizona Republic

Suffice it to say that it's something that would make Austin Powers blush, baby, but it's not supposed to be funny.

A review by Bill Goodykoontz for Arizona Republic around 2010-07-21

Chicago Reader

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.

A review by J.R. Jones for Chicago Reader around 2010-07-21

Time Out

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.

A review by Keith Uhlich for Time Out around 2010-07-21

Charlotte Observer

Angelina Jolie is definitely worth her salt as an action hero, but Salt is never worth its Angelina Jolie.

A review by Lawrence Toppman for Charlotte Observer around 2010-07-21

Observer

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.

A review by Rex Reed for Observer around 2010-07-21