Mr & Mrs Smith
Directed by Doug Liman
Written by Simon Kinberg
Produced by Erik Feig
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Vince Vaughn
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Mr. and Ms. Smith’s biggest pull for box office success is the casting of two of the sexiest movie stars as of right now, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. That’s definitely going to put a lot of asses of all sexes and sexual orientations in the seats of movie theatres all over the world, and the extra publicity of the off screen romance between both of them is not going to hurt either.
The plot is quite simple, one of those that you can explain in a sentence, just the way they like it in Hollywood, think “True lies” meets “Prizzi’s honor”.
The Smith marriage is in crisis, they’ve been married for five or six years and although they love each other monotony and boredom is ruining their relationship. Both of them are top hit men, but they keep that part of their lives hidden from each other, until they meet face to face during a job.
Predictable and entertaining the movie is definitely more enjoyable when they play the comedy angle. The whole game with them trying to outsmart and ultimately kill each other mixes humor and action with a good rhythm and the movie never takes itself too seriously. Both stars, with the help of the always funny Vince Vaughn, shine here. Pitt gives a very nice goofiness to his character that really works and Jolie plays the female James Bond angle with irony and tongue in cheek attitude. Vaughn is a one note comic but, comfortable in that role, he always manages to deliver. Pitt is not the funniest thing in the movie, he lacks a great comedy in his career, but he’s been showing great talent for comedy in both “ocean’s” movies and even in “Fight Club”.
In the third act the movie becomes way more a generic action movie with over the top gun fights and car chases, the humor gets lost in an overdose of gunfire and explosions where all logic is lost and, although entertaining, it’s not as enjoyable as the rest of the movie.
The movie is directed by Doug Liman, responsible for one of the best action thrillers of the last years, The Bourne Identity. While in Bourne he was going for realism, in this movie the action has a more Hollywood blockbuster style á la Bruckheimer with the difference that, unlike directors such as Michael Bay, Liman can actually direct and is skilled as a storyteller. I’d also like to point out the quality of the music score by John Powell, who also scored both Bourne movies
In the end Mr. and Mrs. Smith is an enjoyable but forgettable film. Nice eye candy, good comedy at times and entertaining action scenes. It works better if you turn your brain off so it can be a good date movie.
The moral of the story? If your marriage is in crisis, be honest with your partner, blow things up and shoot the hell out of people.
Carlos Fraile. After a failed attempt at studying psychology, where he learnt a lot about role playing, Carlos Fraile left universty to study Broadcasting and pursue a career as DJ and music journalist. Television lured him with offers of a steady pay packet and he is currently a Programming Coordinator for an international TV channel.