Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Good)
These days it seems that movies are being made with the express purpose of breaking genre barriers. Probably because of a lack of original script material, movies are resorting to the tactic of appealing to the audience on multiple levels in order to continue their draw. Most that attempt this fail miserably. This one came very close to succeeding. Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a dark comedy about a couple who rekindled their relationship through extraordinary circumstances. No, wait, it was a light-hearted action film. Actually, I’m pretty sure it was a romantic comedy set against a background of gunfire and explosions. Regardless of its identity, the movie was about a married couple who discovered after 5 or 6 tough years of marriage that they were both secret agents working for opposing sides. It was an interesting concept, and it worked most of the time. There were some genuinely funny moments and a handful of jaw-dropping visuals; set-piece scenes that I won’t forget for a while. Yet, there was something missing, and I think it was the glue that should have held it all together. The comedy seemed to constantly step aside for the drama, which felt too shallow because it was always interrupted by explosions or fist fights. These action sequences were the film’s biggest strength and weakness; they were good enough to be their own movie, at least at first. They became more over-the-top as time went on, until they were just too ridiculous for what the movie was trying to do. In the end, I felt like I had watched one third of three separate movies, all cut together and shown at the same time. Three pretty good movies, though, and as such the experience was still fairly enjoyable.
