Mr. & Mrs. Smith Review

Summer is the perfect time for fun, no-brainer popcorn flicks, which is exactly what Mr. & Mrs. Smith is. Brad and Angelina work perfectly together in a fun, over-the-top action extravaganza helmed by Doug Liman, a very capable director who gave us Swingers, Go and The Bourne Identity. All the tabloid nonsense aside, what it all comes down to is the fact that the film's stars make this movie work. The script is decent but ultimately Brad and Angelina's on-screen chemistry elevates the film to greater things. There are many moments where the actors add their own special touches to a line that really makes the delivery that much more effective. It's nice to actually see skilled performances from highly publicized headliners. Too often are the big names attached to blockbuster films just that- big names and not a lot else. Another reason the film comes across as a crowd pleaser is because the tone and humor is kept very consistent throughout. I read and article with Doug Liman where he talked about how he was constantly walking a tightrope while directing Smith. If the quarreling between Brad and Angelina's characters was too soft, it could come across as hokey and end up being less effective. But if they were too harsh with it, some might view it as borderline spousal abuse. The end result is a great mix of comedy and action that holds up start to finish. If I wanted to nitpick I could find flaws in the film...the villians are never very clearly identified...we could have been given more insight into the couple's relationship...the pacing stutters now and then due to cramming so much material into a two hour block. But in the end who really cares? I know I don't. Mr. & Mrs. Smith isn't out to win any awards, it just tries to be an entertaining romp filled with glitzy action scenes and witty dialogue- and it succeeds. I think we need that sort of movie now and then.

Torrey's Opinion:
5- Strongly Recommended
4- Recommended
3- A Mixed Bag
2- Sub-par
1- Don't Bother

Random Related Fact: Director Doug Liman is probably becoming less and less a fan of Steven Soderbergh. In the middle of shooting Smith, Brad Pitt had to pull out for a three-month period to film Soderbergh's Ocean's 12. Matt Damon also had to leave partway through The Bourne Identity to work on Ocean's 11.