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Mr & Mrs Smith: silly, but still fun
05 December 2005
[indent]Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a send-off of the action-thriller-adventure movies like the James Bond series. It's more like Commando, in that it lampoons itself with the excess of violence, but mercifully it never quite descends into silliness.
Almost everything about the movie falls apart when examined carefully, but since the action starts so early, you really don't get a lot of time to examine the details. John and Jane Smith are married, each pretending to be employed in normal jobs (he an architectural engineer, she an executive of a temp company). In reality they are uber-James Bond-style secret operatives, the world's best hired assassins.
Of course, neither knows the other is in the trade until they both get set up for the same job. They end up being assigned to snuff one another. Then they both become targets together. Predictable, but fun.
Fairly simple plot, lots of action, and not much memorable dialogue but there is a tongue-in-cheek humour here that saves the film from being stupid. The characters are good, they act well together, and they have some sharp wit in their lines often enough to keep you watching. And no one in the film smokes or drives and SUV.
Plus there are the usual adventure-style effects and high-tech gadgetry - more than enough to keep you from being bored. There's never any break in the action that long, anyway.
The end is a great Bonnie & Clyde-style shoot-up, but the film doesn't end with the expected resolution (I won't spoil it, but you'll understand when you see it). We were left with one of those "is that all?" moments when the credits started to toll that suggest a sequel is planned.
Having Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie cast as the eye candy doesn't hurt. This isn't a movie about sex, but it has lots of innuendo. And having both of them prance about in underwear (and lingerie!) doesn't hurt the eyes, either. More skin would have taken the audience focus from the story, although I wouldn't have minded more of Angelina's lingerie shots
Fun entertainment, nothing serious, a fun evening, probably not good for a second-viewing (except to see Angelina in black bra again...). I'd give it 3 out of 5 for being such a fun ride.[/indent]
Almost everything about the movie falls apart when examined carefully, but since the action starts so early, you really don't get a lot of time to examine the details. John and Jane Smith are married, each pretending to be employed in normal jobs (he an architectural engineer, she an executive of a temp company). In reality they are uber-James Bond-style secret operatives, the world's best hired assassins.
Of course, neither knows the other is in the trade until they both get set up for the same job. They end up being assigned to snuff one another. Then they both become targets together. Predictable, but fun.
Fairly simple plot, lots of action, and not much memorable dialogue but there is a tongue-in-cheek humour here that saves the film from being stupid. The characters are good, they act well together, and they have some sharp wit in their lines often enough to keep you watching. And no one in the film smokes or drives and SUV.
Plus there are the usual adventure-style effects and high-tech gadgetry - more than enough to keep you from being bored. There's never any break in the action that long, anyway.
The end is a great Bonnie & Clyde-style shoot-up, but the film doesn't end with the expected resolution (I won't spoil it, but you'll understand when you see it). We were left with one of those "is that all?" moments when the credits started to toll that suggest a sequel is planned.
Having Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie cast as the eye candy doesn't hurt. This isn't a movie about sex, but it has lots of innuendo. And having both of them prance about in underwear (and lingerie!) doesn't hurt the eyes, either. More skin would have taken the audience focus from the story, although I wouldn't have minded more of Angelina's lingerie shots
Fun entertainment, nothing serious, a fun evening, probably not good for a second-viewing (except to see Angelina in black bra again...). I'd give it 3 out of 5 for being such a fun ride.[/indent]
