Angelina Jolie's Salt is seasoned to thrill all action lovers

Give Jason Bourne some sexy curves or, make Daniel Craig’s Bond a less brooding superspy and a master of disguises.

Any which way, jack up the quota of bikes, explosions, chases and non- stop action. You can afford to to go lax with the plot because there’s Angelina Jolie as a sizzling killing machine at hand — box- office seduction’s guaranteed.

Salt is your assembly- line Hollywood spy flick. The twist comes by way of Jolie’s casting. For those who came in late, this was originally Tom Cruise’s flick. That never happened — may be because Tom has already cruised through three Mission Impossible flicks and is on course for a possible fourth. So one thing led to another and Cruise’s baby ended up in Jolie’s lap.

Gender realignment of the hero meant beauty had to be remixed with brawn. Jolie was an obvious choice — she’s done this sort of bump and grind in Tomb Raider , Wanted and Mr & Mrs Smith before. In Salt she turns up sexily toned and blonde- haired, pinched cheeks and uber- slim frame in place too, to give 20- something Size Zero wannabes a reminder that she’s still very much on top of the heap.

It’s the stock Hollywood espionage script. Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a crack CIA officer who puts duty and country above everything, including personal life. A defecting Russian spy drops the hint that she is actually spying for the Russians. Salt has no other option but to run and hide. As her own people gun for her, time is running out before she must prove her innocence and loyalty.

The narrative stashes ample drama and scope for action as Salt uses her skills as a covert operative to try and uncover the truth behind the frameup.

Of course, each time she is about to prove her innocence, the script drops a twist. Which in turn makes you suspect she could actually be a Russian spy.

The idea behind the film is obvious.

Since Salt’s identity is never really revealed, you figure out here’s a film series in the making — to exploit Angelina’s Jolie’s star power and keep the moolah rolling as long as it works. Jolie’s already given Hollywood the Tomb Raider flicks.

Salt seems like another film series add- on waiting for her resume.

To be fair, the star comes up trumps as action hero, as director Phillip Noyce loads a by- and- large old school stunt festival. Noyce lets Jolie play the whole field with chase sequences through traffic jams, extensive gunfights, and even throws her at the receiving end of a brutal interrogation session by some North Korean captors (yes, the film is bloody in parts, although strictly designed to suit U/ A tastes).

The film banks wholly on its lead star (in fact, there is no other saleable name in the cast), and the props go about with not much to do. Chiwetel Ejiofor as the stern CIA top boss is wasted. Liev Shreiber gets to do his own bit of action, but that’s only when the screenplay needs a breather from the Jolie stunt fest.

Uh, well... you were paying to watch Jolie on the go any way.