Glossy but ultimately vacuous

Rating: 3/10 (13 August 2006)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith seems like an initially appealing prospect but ultimately ends up as a vacuous and unfulfilling experience. You approach it hungrily, with its wonderfully tempting component parts all laid before you; alluring and glossy. The exquisitely quirky beauty of Angelina Jolie, the sheer testosterone of Brad Pitt, the intriguing premise of the set-up, the money that will no doubt be lavished upon the project, the scope for comedic interplay and a complex plot of cross and double-cross and, hopefully, some blistering action set pieces. Well, it's all there but somehow the sum is not the equal of the parts.
Essentially, all the parts fail spectacularly. The leads fail to develop any real chemistry, the plot is too simplistic  to the point of being non-existent, the true comedy moments can be counted on one finger and the action is generic and, frankly, boring. Brad and Angelina do a reasonable job but they are not one of cinema's finest pairings, struggling as they do to inject any true charisma or personality into their parts. Vince Vaughn is wasted in an essentially cameo role (I can't help thinking that quite of bit of him must be on a cutting room floor somewhere) and the plot delivers no suspense whatsoever.
The set-up has been seen before where one or both partners in a marriage are not what they appear to be (most notably in James Cameron's True Lies) and has been executed to a much higher standard. The script itself is leaden and the direction is flat and lifeless. The ending is stunningly abrupt with no resolution, as if everyone concerned with the production simply decided to stop filming and go home. Extraordinary. Assuming that there are two rival "agencies" out to get them then just polishing off a few henchmen is unlikely to stop that happening.
Ultimately, you will sit through a couple of hours of pouting and macho posturing and come away feeling just a little cheated  as if the producers thought that getting Brad and Angelina together would be enough. (Interesting piece of trivia is that Nicole Kidman was the first choice to play Jane Smith that actually might have been more interesting!). Still, don't take my word for it  take a look yourself and make your own mind up.
3/10