Ghosted

Trying to coast on star power and spectacle without any underlying substance, Ghosted is content to regurgitate cliches from a well-worn formula.

After all, how many movies do we need in which bickering lovebirds become embroiled in a perilous globetrotting adventure before sparks inevitably fly? Add this one to the list, and it’s worse than most of its predecessors.

Before abruptly transitioning into a high-tech espionage thriller, the story starts in Hallmark romcom territory, with Cole (Chris Evans) trying to find the right plant for Sadie (Ana de Armas) while manning his booth at a Washington, D.C., farmers’ market.

Some initial hesitation leads to a first date that seems fine, but then Sadie cuts off all contact. Thanks to an inhaler Cole left in her backpack — as unlikely as that seems — he’s able to trace her to London and hop on a flight to surprise her.

They reunite, all right, but under much different circumstances. Cole is mistaken by gangsters for a CIA operative with a bounty on his head. In swoops Sadie as a spy trying to secure intelligence from a ruthless arms dealer (Adrien Brody) who dispatches his henchmen to capture them both.

Secrets are gradually revealed that fill in the gaps about motives and true identities, as their mutual quest for survival turns adversarial. Will they break up? Or perhaps die first? As Cole wonders out loud: “Are you saying you think it was a mistake to save my life?”

After a forced meet-cute, Evans and de Armas generate moderate chemistry — after all, this is their third collaboration in the past four years. And at least Ghosted reverses traditional gender roles between action hero and distressed sidekick.

As directed by Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman), the film otherwise doesn’t put much time or effort into character development amid the constant effects-driven mayhem.

There are some dazzling set pieces and competently choreographed confrontations along the way, but the barrage of acerbic barbs and one-liners only sporadically hits the mark — thus inhibiting the uninspired screenplay’s ability to maintain suspense.

Even some amusing cameos don’t provide much of a jolt, thanks to a convoluted plot with bland villains and a lack of meaningful intrigue.

Despite some stylish visuals in exotic locales, as the film becomes progressively more far-fetched, you begin to wish it had ghosted you instead.

Rated PG-13, 117 minutes.