Brad and Angelina make an enchanting (off?)screen couple

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2005)

Most of the early publicity surrounding "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" had to do with the alleged relationship between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, which supposedly led to the demise of Pitt's relationship with Jennifer Aniston. Regardless, this doesn't affect the film that much; whether or not they are soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Pitt, Mr. and Mrs. Smith are both engaging, fun characters, and the movie can be similarly described.
The setup is well-known; John (Pitt) and Jane (Jolie) are a bored married couple each unaware that the other is a highly-trained assassin, and that they work for different, rival companies. When they eventually do figure this out, they are ordered to eliminate each other. The plot of the film could cheerfully be called minimalist; it's mostly about the darkly comedic interaction between John and Jane, and some brutally fun fight scenes. When the Smiths demolish their house, reminiscent of a famous "Alias" fight, laughs come fast and furious. The whole film really resembles, more than anything else, a 1930s screwball comedy, except with lots of guns.
Neither Jolie or Pitt has a particularly difficult role; they're both required to seem cool and sexy, which they are capable of doing in their sleep. But they both do it well, and the result is undeniably entertaining. I give "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" an 8/10.