One marriage in real trouble - 53%

Rating: 5/10 (7 May 2006)

Relationships can be tricky sometimes, as I'm sure you're aware. Take the uncommonly good-looking Mr Pitt, for example. While his relationship with the box office is stronger than ever, his relationship with critical success seems to have turned sour of late. Nowadays, he seems more concerned with being Brad Pitt than being an actual actor and who can blame him – it's not like he needs the money or anything! And that, ultimately, is the problem with this film, which will go down in history as the moment when Brad met Angelina (if these things matter to you at all). It's a shambolic waste of a good idea that runs out of steam before the end and the impressive action scenes are eclipsed by the off-screen antics of its two stars.
Deep in an American suburb, a married couple have run into trouble. John Smith (Brad Pitt) and his wife Jane (Angelina Jolie) have lost the spark after five or six years of marriage and both have kept secrets from the other. Both of them are top assassins working for rival associations and have kept the other in the dark about their true profession. But once they encounter each other on the same job, they both have to face up to a choice that has always been there – do they remain professional and take the other out or can they resolve their differences and save their marriage?
It is certainly different, despite the hackneyed implausibility of it all. It's like watching James Bond being married to one of Charlie's Angels and while it's intriguing, I don't really know if that's enough of an idea to sustain an entire movie. Pitt and Jolie sizzle as only they can and a few comic moments stand out but by and large, this is a really schizophrenic patchwork movie. The first half is pretty dull and the second half quickly descends into a bizarre supermarket-based shootout that doesn't feel as if it fits in somehow. There are good ideas here but they are completely obscured by the presence of Pitt and Jolie, who you never take seriously anyway. Jolie doesn't even look like a housewife, an aspect demonstrated in one scene in particular when she is left holding a baby and has a look of complete disdain on her face (how's that for irony?).
I can't help but feel slightly disappointed, even though the warning signs were there. Plenty of DVDs on the 3-for-£18 shelf and a lack of credible reviews on the back on the box give the game away all too easy. It's not a bad film but it could have been brilliant and perhaps if the 'Brangelina' phenomenon hadn't been spawned behind the cameras, both might have been more focused on making this film much better. Actor couples rarely work on screen (remember "Gigli" with 'Bennifer' or "Days Of Thunder" with Cruise and Kidman?) and although this isn't the worst of examples, it does highlight what can happen when events off-screen prove more interesting than events on-screen. Only Vince Vaughn impresses in what is little more than a cameo because screen time is restricted due to the overwhelming presence of Pitt & Jolie. Basically, "Mr & Mrs Smith" has only limited entertainment value and is not really worth spending your time or money on. Still, you get what you pay for – maybe I need to look harder on the 3-for-£18 shelf next time