From Phillip Noyce, the director of such top notch espionage thrillers as Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and The Quiet American; comes one of the best action movies since the Bourne trilogy. Salt is an action packed pulse-pounding thrill ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat for its entire 100 minute running time.

We first meet Salt (Angelina Jolie) in North Korea where she is being tortured under charges of espionage.  Much like her beau Brad Pitt was in Spy Game.  However, whereas Spy Game was all about getting Pitt’s character released from custody, Salt uses this as a way of introducing the viewer to a woman who can handle the toughest of punishments–and that woman is Evelyn Salt.

Fast forward two years, we are in present day Washington D.C. at C.I.A headquarters, where a Russian defector named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), accuses her of being a Russian spy, forcing Salt to go on the run in order to clear her name.  (On a side note with the recent news of Russian moles being arrested in the United States, this film couldn’t have come out at a better time.)

Chasing after her is Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Counter-intelligence officer; and her friend and superior at the C.I.A., Ted Winters (Liev Schreiber), who are intent on bringing her in for questioning.  This is when the action kicks into high-gear, as Salt escapes the building despite doors closing around her every which way she turns.

Ejiofor and Schreiber both do an excellent job in their supporting roles.  Ejiofor plays a by-the-book government agent, who wants answers and will stop at nothing to get them. While Schreiber plays a supportive friend and superior, who just wants to stop Salt from doing anything rash and to convince her to come in peacefully.  But as one would expect, Jolie remains the focus of the film. She is pitch-perfect as the chameleon-like Evelyn Salt; bringing just the right amount of physicality, sexuality, subtlety, and intensity needed for the role.

The action scenes are some of the best seen on film and are reminiscent to those found in the Bourne trilogy. Standout scenes include the likes of Salt jumping off highway overpasses onto a moving 16-wheeler below…and proceeding to hop from one vehicle to the next, while under fire.

To go along with the pulse-pounding action is James Newton Howard’s intense musical score, which adds to the film’s sense of urgency.

Salt is a movie that really knows how to pack a punch and is definitely one of the best action films this year.