A situation drama about marriage

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2005)

This is probably an alternate view on the movie. As in the quantum theory, the event changes with the observer. This observer does not see Mr and Mrs Smith so much as an action thriller as a situation drama/comedy about marriage.
Pay attention first to the title. "Mr and Mrs" is meant to really say something. If you don't want to take it too seriously, look at it as a parody of any serious literary work (including movies) on the subject of marriage that you have come across before. Unlike the conventional start of Hollywood action thrillers i.e. a cliff-hanger (which may of may not have anything to do with the rest of the movie), "Smith" starts with a POV sequence from the marriage counsellor, with some pretty witty lines from both of the clients. The next 30 minutes (a full quarter of the movie) is devoted to showing the strange and strained relationship of the couple who had been married for "5 or 6 years". Indeed there are two sequences showing them separately "at work" but the fact that they are first rate assassins is almost incidental. They could have easily been in other lines of business that they want equally to keep secret from each other. This first quarter of the movie unfolds more like a situation comedy than an action thriller.
The middle portion of the movie takes a turn, into something that many people compare to "The war of the Roses". They can't be more wrong. The comparison is totally superficial, in that the couples in the movies want literally to kill each other. "Roses", however, is filled with a mean spirit that led to loud criticism and protest at the time when it was released, during the Christmas season. The earnest effort of the couple in "Smith" in their attempts to kill each other, on the other hand, is just manifestation of professional excellence, without malice.
The movie finally comes to its own when John and Jane Smith, after a long sequence of mutual attempts of annihilation (from employment of heavy arsenal to gritty melee) come to the realisation that even when their marriage had apparently been a charade, there was something in it that this "close encounter" finally brings out. Instead of taking each other as a convenient cover for their true identity, they proceed, for the very first time, to discover each other as individuals.
As if to keep the audience still guessing even though the suspense is all gone, the movie makers give the last part of the movie a little bit of a "Bonnie and Clyde" flavour. There is clearly a lack of a real climax normally expected of an action thriller. The villains are faceless, not to make them mysterious, but because they are unimportant. The final shootout more than likely will have you sagging in you seat rather than hanging at its edge. Even the high-speed car chase on the freeway does not generate much excitement (at least not for those who have see Matrix II). I have a feeling that this is all intentional as the focus, even in the middle of all the action, is continuously shifting back towards the relationship between Mr and Mrs, culminating in the full circle of the opening marriage counselling scene.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are two of the most stylish, cool, sexy stars in Hollywood today and far too much have already been said about their off-screen relationship. They carry the whole show, needless to say. Of their respective sidekicks, Vince Vaughn (Norman Bates in the "Psycho" remake!) has a little screen time and a few funny lines but Kerry Washington (wife Della Bea in "Ray") is all but noticeable.