 Among negative responses , The New Yorker 's David Denby said Salt " is as impersonal an action thriller as we ’ ve seen in years " , finding the supporting cast underexplored – " the tricky plot locks them into purely functional responses " . Claudia Puig of the USA Today considered the film a " by @-@ the @-@ book thriller " with Jolie 's performance as the only distinguished feature . Lawrence Toppman of The Charlotte Observer was mostly critical of the writing , describing the film as absurd , overplotted and incoherent , and saying the villainous schemes " would have been called off 20 years ago at the latest , when the Soviet Union dissolved " . Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer described Salt as " commendably swift and progressively inane " , saying the script was a " sloppy concoction of story elements from ' 70s espionage classics " that ended up not working right with its " nonsensical setups and wildly illogical twists " . James Berardinelli of Reelviews considered that , while the film was fast @-@ paced and the action scenes competently shot , the plot was predictable and " the spy aspects , which are by far the most intriguing elements of the movie , are shunted aside in favor of spectacular stunts and long chases " . 
