Mr and Mrs Smith will probably be best known as the film which may or may not have ended the marriage of Hollywood’s golden couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

Endlessly discussed in the gossip mags, professional homewrecker Angelina Jolie was blamed for the break-up. It’s ironic then that the film itself is about the marital strife of a not so ordinary couple. Think The War of the Roses with extra weaponry.

The film follows the gradual degradation of the marriage of John and Jane Smith. Despite the perfect house and perfect jobs, there’s a distance between them and a boredom which simply can’t be ignored any longer. But Mr and Mrs Smith are keeping an explosive secret from each other. Both are assassins. After being put on the same job, they discover that the enemy is far closer than they ever could have imagined. Their next job may prove to be their hardest. Killing each other.

Predictably glossy yet surprisingly subversive, Mr and Mrs Smith is ideal summer-time entertainment. Highly derivative of Prizzi’s Honour and True Lies, it won’t win any awards for originality, yet it’s so energetic and fun, it’s one of the most infectious movies of the season. In the early stages, suburbia is so painfully boring it’s easy to see why even Brad and Angelina would consider marriage counselling. For once, the romantic pair aren’t suited to such a perfect lifestyle. This is perfectly captured in a party scene where Angelina grimly agrees to holding a baby while Brad finds office talk impossible.

One of the film’s strong points for me is the unexpectedly dark humour. Okay so I’m not talking Fight Club dark, but for a mainstream summer popcorn movie, it still comes up with a few surprises. The body-count of the film is brutally high. When questioned by the other if they ever had trouble sleeping after killing someone they both agree that it never crossed their mind. The violence is rarely diminished. Especially so in the film’s highlight, an all-out domestic battle between the pair, which may rank as one of the year’s top moments.

The film is skilful with its dark humour in that it manages to play Angelina accidentally stabbing Brad in the leg and Brad taking joy in repeatedly kicking Angelina in the stomach, for laughs. There is a delicious amorality in watching a seemingly perfect suburban couple beat the living shit out of each other. This scene is followed by a wonderfully ironic post-coital view of the wreckage as they sip orange juice from broken glasses.

Brad Pitt is an unorthodox action hero. His clumsy goofiness does create some laughs but makes him a rather unconvincing assassin. After Girl, Interrupted won her an Oscar, Hollywood wasn’t too sure what to do with self-confessed bad girl Angelina Jolie. After a series of flops, it seems this is finally the mainstream role she’s been waiting for. Strikingly sexy and believably tough, you’ll be placing your bet on her to beat Pitt. They make for an attractive and likeable couple, enviously so.

With The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman at the helm we’re also not short-changed on the action front. A number of set-pieces are suitably thrilling and also amusingly mix inappropriate banter from the pair. The plot, of lack of, is irrelevant. We’re watching two A-listers fight and argue to the death here. An underdeveloped subplot involving The OC’s uber-geek Adam Brody and a wasted attempt at comic support from Vince Vaughn do little to dampen the spirits. The film’s only major flaw is the rushed ending. It wreaks of test screening tampering and is so abrupt you’ll be fixed to your seat as the credits roll, hoping for more.

With some Skywalker guy turning to the dark side, with Sin City being the darkest comic book adaptation ever, with Batman retuning next week in what’s promised to be the darkest film yet, and with Mr and Mrs Smith injecting a dark comic tone into a traditional romantic thriller, it’s turning out to be a refreshingly dark summer. It may lack a great deal of depth and may end poorly but this easily ranks as one of the most satisfying films of the season. Beautiful people, explosions, dark humour and a lack of morals... who would want anything more?

Mr and Mrs Smith website

More film reviews by Ben on LeftLion









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