Salt

In this mindless, over-the-top action/drama/international espionage outing, Angelina Jolie ("Wanted" and "The Changeling") takes on a role originally written for Tom Cruise. He decided (and rightly so) that the character was too much like others he can play in his sleep, so it passed to Jolie.

She is a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy, so of course she has to go on the lam until she can find her missing husband and (maybe) save the world.

Starring with Ms. Jolie, we see:

• Liev Schreiber ("The Manchurian Candidate" and "Defiance") as her sympathetic colleague in the CIA;
• Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Kinky Boots" and "Endgame") as an angry, confused FBI man. By the way, his name is pronounced "Chew-it-tell Edge-oh-for" and yes, he is British, although he is spectacularly good with dialects.

This international cast has accents to match, however I had no trouble making out the dialog...of which there is only as much as absolutely necessary; most of the 100-minute running time is taken up with impossible martial arts, preposterous vehicular mayhem, gunfire and blowie uppie stuff.

The last ten minutes are pretty good....If you paid close attention you might think you know what happened. If so, let me know, okay?