Mr. & Mrs. Smith DVD Review:

John (Pitt) and Jane (Jolie) Smith are having marital problems. After five or six years of marriage, the spark has gone and their lives have become routine. Each of them exchange pleasantries every morning, go to work and exchange the same pleasantries when they return home. Routine. That is until their jobs cross paths because unbeknownst to both of them they work in the same field. They are trained assassins with new targets. Each other.

Two of Hollywood’s most beautiful come together and face off in the ultimate battle of the sexes but do Brad and Angelina sizzle or simmer?

Bringing together two of Tinsel Town’s sexiest is a great idea on paper and the good news is that it works on screen. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are every woman and man’s fantasy when it comes to describing their perfect man or woman. Each of them has the power to allure both sexes with fabulous good looks and charm in abundance. Neither of them are all about looks however because they can both act.

A film like this is nothing without chemistry and Brad and Angelina instantly click. Director Doug Liman and screenwriter Simon Kinberg cleverly combine action and banter that brings out the best in each of the actors. John and Jane bicker, confronting their cocktail of lies that formed to the foundation of their marriage while in the middle of a gunfight. As their home is been blown to bits by shotgun fire, the two of them verbally spar for not just the physical but also the mental comeuppance. The two stars deliver the lines effortlessly, highlighting their skills and talents as actors, which they seldom have the chance to show in big budget productions. (See ‘Troy’ and ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’).

Backing the pair up is a scene stealing performance by Vince Vaughn. As John’s business partner and fellow hitman Eddie, he himself is going through hard times and has moved back in with his mom. This gives the Vaughn the chance to shine as he provides most of the great one-liners in the film and lights up every scene that he is in. There is also a noticeable appearance by O.C. favourite Adam Brody, who like Vaughn grabs his chance to inject some more comedy into the proceedings. It is just a shame that neither of them are in the movie enough.

Doug Liman is becoming THE multi-talented director. Very few people at the helm of a major, big budget Hollywood movie can successful combine all the glitz, glamour and high-octane action with performance and well-defined characters. While this may not have the complexity and sophistication of ‘The Bourne Identity’, the movie is still a cut above many other films in the action genre. Limon effortlessly combines outrageous action sequences with character interaction expertly but is not scared to slow the pace right down to allow the characters to grow. This is the sign of a director who is comfortable with all aspects of filmmaking, which is a very rare commodity in the business.

‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ is a clever and engaging action comedy that is all about the main characters. While no one else really gets a look in, the film is actually better for it as it gives you more time with John and Jane as they try and work out the difficulties in their marriage, in the most extreme of ways.

Star Rating = * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts soundtrack, the transfer is extremely good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Doug Liman and screenwriter Simon Kinberg
After his success with ‘The Bourne Identity’, director Doug Liman talks about how he got involved in his next action project and how he wanted it to be very different. Writer Simon Kinberg talks about the development of the script, emphasising the relationship more than the action sequences. The pair talks about trying to create a different kind of comedy-action movie and what Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie brought to the film. This is a good and very chatty commentary from two men who seem like they really enjoyed making the movie and it also offers an insight into Doug Liman’s film making process.

Commentary by producers Akiva Goldsmith and Lucas Foster
The two producers of the film come together to provide an informative and chatty commentary for ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’. They talk about the evolution of the movie into a romantic comedy with gunfights. They talk about shoot in Los Angeles and Vancouver and how Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s onscreen chemistry brought a lot more to the relationship between John and Jane in the movie. This is a more technical and informative track but still well worth a listen.

Making a Scene Featurette (8.03 mins)
Director Doug Liman, writer Simon Kinberg, producers Akiva Goldsmith and Lucas Foster, stunt coordinator Simon Crane, editor Michael Tronick and star Angelina Jolie talk about creating the hood jump sequence for ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’. The group reveal how the scene developed from a car chase sequence that had to be changed due to budgetary restrictions. We see how the scene developed and how they put Brad on the roof and in the back of the car.

Deleted Scenes (8.23 mins)
Entitled ‘John and Eddie in the kitchen’, ‘House cleaning’ and ‘Homemade store shootout’, these deleted or extended scenes are unfortunately not accompanied by a commentary or introduction to reveal why they were removed.

Trailers
Watch the teaser and theatrical trailer for ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’

Previews
View trailers for ’24: Season 4’, ‘Fantastic 4’, ‘Crash’ and ‘In Her Shoes’.

OVERALL

Fox have done an OK job with the DVD transfer of ‘Mr & Mrs Smith’ but it could have been so much more. While the two commentary tracks are good, the lack of extensively making of… featurettes is a bit disappointing, especially from Fox. Fans might be slightly disappointed but the commentary tracks do make up for some of these shortcomings.



Jamie Kelwick