Mr. and Mrs. Smith

A great deal of hype surrounded this film from monster-sized movie posters of Mr. Smith (Brad Pitt) and Mrs. Smith (Angelina Jolie) to incessant trailers and t.v. ads. Additionally, the film had some controversy before release about the major bedroom scene between the two co-stars being so hot that large portions had to be removed in order to garner the PG-13 rating (so hot it would have been X-rated otherwise). Amid all this, I went with high hopes to see it on June 10 2005 at Coral Ridge Mall for the 9:30pm showing.

The film details the lives of two highly skilled assassins whose identities are so secret not even their spouses know what they do. Unfortunately, both Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith work for opposite teams in the spy game. When they are involved in the same mission and "make" the other person (find out that the rival player is their spouse), their employers each ask them to take out the other.

For the scenes in the film beyond the primary plotline itself, the film starts with a pretty humorous scene about the couple's marriage going downhill as they talk to a psychiatrist and this same theme of levity litters the entire script. Overall, this works well and the action scenes are also relatively decent in the grand scheme. Scenes not working so well, however, are those with apparent large chunks cut out such as the bedroom one. It is so choppy and quick they might have simply left it out all together, although we are supposed to see how much the couple are mutually attracted to each other.

Afterwards, I've heard comparisons made between this film and The War of the Roses. Mr. and Mrs. Smith simply doesn't stack up to the same dark humor of that great film nor is it as complex or well-scripted. This movie does have its moments, but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are too cool of characters in most the movie to really be believable about despising each other. The last moments of the film are also pretty ludicrous even for an action thriller.

Entertaining in essence, this movie gets a good score for being enjoyable despite the shallow script. It is worth a rent on DVD, but not really a jaunt to the theatre to watch it.

Please feel free to comment on this review or on the movie itself at the forum thread devoted to it at this location.