Salt is nothing more than a fun popcorn movie. It’s well-made, but shallow. If you simply want to be entertained and don’t mind ludicrous plot holes, Salt gets the job done.

Salt is the story of Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. The movie has her being chased by her fellow co-workers while the audience wonders if Salt is who she claims to be. This ambiguity remains throughout most of the film and provides most of the suspense.

Unlike Inception, Salt has no artistic pretensions. Salt is nothing but pure escapism and it knows it. The movie (unlike Inception) doesn’t pretend to be smarter than it is. Phillip Noyce knows the kind of movie he is directing and doesn’t give the film greater importance than needed. Salt isn’t a deeply probing film which questions the way we live and our values. It’s simply a fun way to pass the time. Too many mainstream big-budget films pretend to be something they’re not, so it’s refreshing that Salt knows what it is and doesn’t pretend otherwise (only the characters do).

After Salt questions Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), a man accused of being a Russian agent, and Orlov accusses Salt of being a Russian spy, the movie is mostly filled with chase scenes. The meeting between Salt and Orlov occurs within 20 minutes of the film (if not before).

The scenes where American Agents and Salt’s co-workers, Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) chases Salt (Angelina Jolie giving her typical charismatic performance) are fastly cut to leave our blood rushing and energy pumping. The movie is very fun, albeit far-fetched and corny (get it, because it’s a popcorn flick).

Phillip Noyce’s over reliance on music to add emotion and suspense and a weak ending are really the only flaws of the film (I mean there are a few plot holes here and there, but the movie moves so fast you won’t notice or care about them).

Salt works more as a condiment, adding flavor to the popcorn movie than as a full meal. As it stands, Salt is an entertaining, shallow, agreeable enough time-passer. If that’s all you look for in a movie, you’ll have fun watching the film. But if not, you’ll wish the movie added a little more spice with the Salt.

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