The worthy companion and enjoyable summer blockbuster to "Batman Begins" vs. "War of the Worlds" or "Bewitched"

Rating: 7/10 (5 July 2005)

With the tremendous success of "The Bourne Identity" 2002 and "The Bourne Supremacy" 2004, director/producer Doug Liman is established as a filmmaker who truly understands what makes an action/suspense movie work. This summer's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with the pairing of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie once again firms up Liman's credibility and peerless delivery of a blockbuster supreme.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" is sheer fun and chemistry. Definitely Hollywood packaged, valued entertainment product. If you want star power - sure got it with Pitt and Jolie. If you want fun and action (over the top explosive effects) - 'tis solidly included even with dashes of romantic notions for the taking. Yes, the beginning scene (in front of therapist/counselor) seems to be a departure/side-stepping scene, reminded me of "When Harry Met Sally" - the talk/exchange about marriage has its subtle stabs at humor. It's a slick, stylish, hi-tech bullet-flying movie, literally about a couple of assassins. Thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining. (Of course you're not supposed to take any of the plot seriously. Sheer amusement.)
The title is reminiscent of Hitchcock's only comedy, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" 1941, with screwball comedy queen, Carole Lombard opposite Robert Montgomery. In a way, I felt Liman has injected some of the principles of screwball comedy into his "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and he knows where to draw the line and keeps the action sequences exciting and effectively congruent with the 'quieter' segments - not letting go of the suspense thread loosely.
For this movie experience, I felt the music by John Powell played an important part in complementing the action sequences and repartees between the two leads. Kudos to Liman's direction and vision, tight and enjoyable plots kept well in rein. Of course, Pitt and Jolie delivered charming performances to no end, even 'simply' doing action stunts.