Pass the Salt

Let’s be upfront and get Salt’s faults out of the way: There is a plain, egregious misuse of the incomparable Andre Braugher, and two major plot twists are easy to foresee. However, in other ways, Salt overcomes mediocrity and poor judgment. The titular protagonist was originally written for Tom Cruise and then re-written for uber-femme-fatale Angelina Jolie. The gender-bending is immensely superficial (swap imperiled wife for a husband!) and sharply observed---little details and Jolie’s femininity enlivening predictable material: She doffs her impractical heels! She blocks a security camera with her black lace underwear! She sops up blood with a maxi pad! (Not what you think.) Salt gives in to a little genre laziness, but not all the way.