Column inches don’t always translate into box office receipts- just ask Angelina Jolie. Excluding her work in animated movies, she has not recaptured the heights of her collaboration with future husband Brad Pitt in ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ five years ago, and her dramatic roles, while well received by critics, tended to keep audiences away. She’s back in the action work, however, replacing Tom Cruise in spy thriller ‘Salt’.

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is an expert CIA agent, with years of experience in the field. Keeping her job secret from her husband, her delicate balance is thrown into chaos when a Russian defector names her as a double agent, a Russian-trained spy conditioned to plant herself within the CIA in order to carry out assassinations. Unable to defend these charges, Salt goes on the run, and it’s up to her colleague (Live Schreiber) to work out if she’s on Uncle Sam’s side or not, before a gung ho secret service agent (Chiwetel Ejiofor) catches her first. 

The movie, for the most part, feels like a ‘Bourne’ spin-off, but with some flaws that make it not quite as good. There’s some rather awful Russian stereotyping, and indeed the feeling throughout is that it’s alright to show a graphic murder as long as it’s not an American being killed. The main problem however is a story choked by action sequences, and a feeling we’ve been here several times before, even given the sort of clever ‘multiple-twist’ ending.

Jolie worked well as the sexy smiling assassin in ‘Wanted’, however the reason that worked is that she was a supporting actor. The enigmatic routine stretched over a whole movie means at her best she’s very cool, but at worst seems a bit apathetic considering the subject matter. Schreiber is always good to watch and for the most part joins the audience is trying to guess whether Salt is with them or against them. Ejiofor is somewhat wasted as the angry special agent, an actor with far more talent that the role allowed him to show.

Overall a movie that may have been better suited as a launch pad for a younger actor, the way ‘Bourne’ was for Matt Damon, but as a star vehicle for Jolie it’s enjoyable without ever being fantastic.

Salt is out on August 20.