Salt

An undercover CIA operative named Evelyn Salt lives a life of precision and secrecy, built on years of training and sharpened instincts. When a Russian defector brands her a sleeper agent, Salt finds herself labeled a traitor and forced to disappear. She races to elude pursuers, safeguard her husband, and clear her name, relying on the skills that have kept her alive in the shadows. As the pursuit intensifies, old allies become suspects and new adversaries close in, turning routine into a high stakes cat and mouse. The pressure tests loyalties, fusing kinetic action with deception while the question remains who really is Salt.

Directed by Phillip Noyce and released in 2010, Salt originates from an original screenplay by Kurt Wimmer. Jolie leads with a poised, physical performance, backed by a globe-trotting setup and slick espionage set pieces. The production kept a swift tempo.

With a budget of 110,000,000 Salt grossed 293,329,073 worldwide, making it a solid box office success given its high octane action and Jolie's star power. Its wide release across major markets helped push the total to a healthy global tally.

Salt helped cement Angelina Jolie as a leading action icon in a post 9/11 spy thriller climate, reinforcing the appeal of female led thrillers. Its brisk chase sequences and sleek espionage visuals fed into 2000s action cinema and popular culture chatter, and inspired similar roles for women in the genre.

Critical response to Salt blended praise for Jolie's charisma and the film's propulsive pace with criticisms of implausible plotting and structural clichés. The film wrestles with themes of loyalty, identity, and trust in the modern intelligence apparatus. It leaves audiences considering what loyalty means when personal bias clashes with duty.