This lackluster popcorn flick borrows heavily from several more respectable sources, including Prizzi’s Honor (a story about a hit man and a hit woman falling in love with each other, despite accepting to perform hits on each other) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith (about a couple whose marriage isn’t what it used to be and they discover that they aren’t legally married, leading them to wonder where they can go from here).
Basically, Mr. & Mrs. Smith provides just enough ridiculously choreographed fight scenes and pent up sexual aggression to tide over the masses. The filmmakers make it rather clear during a fight scene that Mrs. Smith likes it rough, as she seems to get some pleasure out of being thrown around the room by her husband.
Perhaps this sado-masochism is part of the cultural consciousness; or maybe it just tantalizes us into further speculation of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s affair during the making of this film. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.
I was still left wondering two things upon the film's conclusion: 1) If they’re such observant spies, how could they not detect each other’s hidden tools? and 2) How could two ridiculously gorgeous people like Pitt and Jolie suffer a boring marriage?
Flashy, silly and shallow sells at the summer box office, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith is more than willing to sink to those lows for your dollars.
This lackluster popcorn flick borrows heavily from several more respectable sources, including Prizzi’s Honor (a story about a hit man and a hit woman falling in love with each other, despite accepting to perform hits on each other) and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith (about a couple whose marriage isn’t what it used to be and they discover that they aren’t legally married, leading them to wonder where they can go from here).
