Salt is a bleak and violent spy thriller. It has a competent cast and a steady stream of special effects, but I didn’t enjoy it much.

Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a CIA super-spy who is accused by a Russian defector of being a Soviet mole. At the same time her husband is kidnapped. So she goes on the run with her former CIA colleagues in pursuit, trying to rescue her husband and foil a dastardly plot.

Plausibility is not the movie’s strong suit. Most of the story revolves around an elaborate scheme, like something out of Mission Impossible, but much more elaborate and much more dependent on coincidences and uncontrollable events. Any hope of suspension of disbelief is further undermined by the movie’s jarring lack of concern for getting the details right. (What the heck is a “NATO uniform” supposed to look like, anyway? The movie shows us the answer, but why?)

Worse from a story-telling standpoint is that none of the characters seems particularly sympathetic, not even the heroine. This is a big problem for me. If I cared about the characters I might be willing to overlook the other flaws in the story, but if I don’t care about the characters I have nothing to do but look for plot holes, which are to be found in abundance.

As a final annoyance the ending is sort of inconclusive, as if they wanted to be sure to leave room for a sequel.

The move supplies generous helpings of crashes and explosions. If these are what you are looking for, you may find it satisfactory.