"We're going to have to re-do every conversation we've ever had." (Review)

Well, the holidays are over and I’m thrilled to admit that my DVD collection has grown rather significantly. Shauna and I had to go to Ikea (I mean ‘got’ to go to Ikea) to buy new shelves in order to fit the 224 DVDs we now own. That means a lot of movie watching for the start of 2006 and, hopefully, many new reviews coming soon to a blog near you. Stay tuned!

To start off 2006 I thought I would write a review of one of my new DVDs, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. I first saw this film a few days before Christmas when a good friend brought it over (thanks Vince!). I added it to my wishlist and was pleasantly surprised to unwrap it on Christmas morning. I watched it again that day with my wife’s family and one more time a couple days later with another good friend who is a huge Brad Pitt fan (I won't tell anyone, Chris). So, given that I’ve now watched it three times in just under two weeks you can probably figure out what I think of it.

Having never seen the original I can’t comment on any similarities or differences between the two. The 2005 version stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a modern couple whose marriage appears to be on the rocks. We quickly learn that they are actually highly trained assassins working for competing organizations and are completely unaware of the other’s true occupation. That is until they are both hired to kill the same target and learn each other’s deadly secret. And what would any self-respecting assassin do if they discovered their spouse was working for the competition? Why try to kill them, of course.

Ok, so the plot is pretty light. But then the whole movie is pretty light. The great thing is that it works. I know Mr. & Mrs. Smith got some pretty poor reviews and didn’t do so well at the box office, but I think this might be another case of audiences expecting too much. This film isn’t trying to be deep or complex or dramatic or intelligent. It’s trying to be fun and action-packed and witty and relatively simple. And it succeeds.

The dialogue alone is almost worth watching, er, listening to. It’s like Moonlighting, but with fully automatic weapons and rocket launchers. Any fan of Brad Pitt will instantly love the film simply because it includes all his classic mannerisms and witty delivery. You can tell that Brad knows the film is supposed to be fun and he obviously had fun making it (no reference to his real-life relationship with Angelina Jolie here). Combined with great action sequences, an engaging soundtrack and top-notch special effects, Mr. & Mrs. Smith delivers.

The DVD is presented in Anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen video, which is perfect for exciting blockbusters like this one. As a lovely bonus, a DTS 5.1 track is included. The gunfire and explosions will put your home theatre to good work and you won’t be disappointed with the outcome. A movie with this much action deserves to look and sound big. The DVD lives up to the task.

Special features include an audio commentary, deleted scenes and a short making-of featurette. Not surprisingly, I haven’t watched any of them yet but I’ll get back to you on them just as soon as I can.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is fun to watch and ends up being a great ride. I could watch it again tonight and it’s that re-watch-ability that makes it so enjoyable. As long as you’re not expecting an in-depth, dramatic, ultra-realistic depiction of married assassins, you should enjoy the film as much as I did. And if you don’t like it, well, I have 223 other movies you could come watch instead. I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet this year how much I love watching movies with friends.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith gets 8 percussion grenades (out of 10).

Make sure your jacket isn’t ticking and click here for 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' trivia.