MR. & MRS. SMITH by Doug Liman
John (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie) are five (or six) years married, and everyday life takes its toll. The passion is gone, they live side by side, their sex-life could be better – so they visit marriage counseling, where we meet them and learn about their marriage and how they met five (or six) years ago under thrilling circumstances.
What John and Jane don’t know about each other is that they are both assassins working for competing agencies – until they crash into each other on a job – and suddenly, they are each other’s next target. A weird fight begins – can they kill each other or is there still something of the love of five (or six) years ago left?
The film starts with a bang. No, not the great action sequence you might expect, but with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at marriage counseling! In a beautifully shot, dreamlike flashback-sequence in vivid colors and with atmospheric music we witness two beautiful people meeting and falling in love under dramatic circumstances (the action clearly taking a back seat to the romance), while the real-time action infuses the comedy into the film.
It’s great fun to watch Brad and Angelina bickering and bitching – and surprise! – both of them show they can act, and bring some chemistry to the screen!
The elegant intro sets the tone for a romantic action-comedy with clear emphasis on the romance and comedy. There is plenty of action, but it’s really just the backdrop for Brad and Angelina flexing their comic muscles. All the running, shooting and exploderizing is well choreographed (sometimes almost John Woo-like), but it’s never taken too seriously, and the faceless goons being offed by the dozen are just there as an excuse for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to show off (giving plenty of ammunition to both action-aficionados and moralists against this movie). It also makes the film just the tiniest bit dragging after the first hour – it wouldn’t have hurt to cut just 5 or 10 minutes to give it more pep!
The compensation are great scenes like the intro, or the big fight (involving everything from assault rifles to bare knuckle fistfighting) which gets ever more erotic and sexual – until it turns into a love scene resembling combat.
Definitly not a film for the action-junkies, but a great popcorn movie for the guys who like their romantic comedy peppered with action (and the hot Angelina Jolie) and for the girls who don’t mind some action with their romance (and Brad Pitt as a bonus).
Not a pristine four stars because it doesn’t have the class of the two films it owes a lot (PRIZZI’S HONOR and “the-best-James-Bond-movie-ever-that-happens-to-be-not-a-Bond-movie” TRUE LIES) and because it’s great entertainment while it lasts – but will probably not be remembered in 20 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith Movie Trailer
