Greetings fellow movie goers from around the globe. Today’s Flashback Review is a spy comedy starring two of the biggest Oscar winning A-Listers who play married couple. They realize they’re spies/assassins working for agencies against one another. The premise I’m referring to is none other than “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
Mr. and Mrs. Smith was officially released in 2005. (same year Sin City came out) It received mixed reviews from critics. Regardless of divisive reactions, the film was a commercial hit at the box office due to massive popularity back when Brad & Angelina were a couple. Prior to dating the latter, the former was married to Jennifer Aniston. He divorced her in favor of Angelina. Hence the supercouple name, “Bradgelina.”They were everywhere in the media. Sadly, they’re no longer a thing. So anyway, Brad’s next films are “Bullet Train” & “Babylon.” To prepare for both of his projects, I wanna share my thoughts on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The former will be the third time he plays a spy/assassin. He played one in “Spy Game.” One more thing, Donald Glover & Maya Erskine will headline an upcoming Amazon Prime series based on Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Today’s review doesn’t contain any SPOILERS. Feel free to read my non-spoiler article.
Smart & Dumb Aspects
Smart: Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie both did a fantastic job for their respective performances as John & Jane.
Fun Fact: Angelina also played a spy in “Salt.”
Other Cast Members such as Vince Vaughn, Kerry Washington, Michelle Monaghan & Adam Brody all did a solid job for their respective performances.
Angela Bassett & Keith David provide the voices of the duo’s supervisors.
William Fichtner plays a marriage counselor in the beginning.
Doug Liman (Swingers, The Bourne Identity films, Edge of Tomorrow, American Made) did a great job coordinating the film.
Simon Kinberg (producer of the X-Men series) wrote the script. He made sure every plot point remains intact.
Action Sequences are legit awesome filled with guns-a-blazing and hand-to-hand combat.
Cinematography never suffered from technical issues throughout.
Humor has a ton of effective funny moments. My favorite part is the fight between John & Jane while “Express Yourself” plays in the background. It’s hilarious a song by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube & the late Easy-E is used. Definitely earns Bonus Points for making me laugh so hard. By the way, Ice Cube headlined a movie in 2005 titled, “Are We There Yet?”
Chemistry between the two leads plays a crucial role. Their double lives becomes a predicament when finally go face to face. And I thought Ulrich & Yumi’s (from Code Lyoko) complicated relationship was put to the test in terms of leading a double life as students and virtual warriors protecting the world.
A Flashback Scene, indicates what you’re about to see will make you laugh while your adrenaline level rises up.
Like many of his films, Brad’s signature habit is eating onscreen. Angelina’s signature habit is her seductive charm. Luckily, I’m immune to her. Speaking of which, in one scene, she wore a black latex outfit. When I was a pre-teen, that went over my head. I thought she dressed like a biker chick.
A scene with the duo doing a tango dance, pays homage to another spy comedy known as “True Lies.”
A character’s codename is “The Tank.” A possible reference to Will Ferrell’s character from “Old School.” Even Vince was in Old School too. Will starred in “Kicking and Screaming” back in 2005.
At one point, Tank said, “Who are you people!?” One of Patrick Star’s quotes from “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
John describes Jane as Batman with computers. “Batman Begins” also came out in 2005.
An elevator scene reminded me of “Spider-Man 2.”
If you have a keen eye, Tank wears a “Fight Club” t-shirt. One of my all-time favorite films. Brad was obviously in it. Gotta love in-jokes.
Dumb: I wanted to learn more about John & Jane’s agencies. What are each one’s goals or what do their bosses want? I would’ve liked to see more of Ms. Bassett & Mr. David’s scenes with the duo.
The Final Verdict: A-
Despite one nitpick, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is not really a bad spy film like “Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.” It’s a highly entertaining spy comedy with a good blend of action and comedy wrapped together. To this day, I still don’t get why this film earned mixed reactions. If you’re psyched to see Bullet Train or Babylon, I highly recommend Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 