Forget the “are they or aren’t they” speculation of the tabloids. And forget the commercials for this film. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is, contrary to its marketing, a marital comedy of the blackest kind. It’s light and fluffy and this is one time in modern filmmaking when the human stars of the film outshine the gadgetry in shear beauty.
Wrapped in the awkward device that puts the audience in the seated position occupied by the counselor in the Smiths’ marriage counseling sessions, this movie lays out a tale of two killers for hire who work for competing, and deliberately unnamed and presumably governmental, black-bag agencies. After a meeting of convenience five or six years ago in Bogota, Columbia, John (Brad Pitt) and Jane (Angelina Jolie) decided to get married. When we meet them they’re living in a Pottery Barn-perfect house in the suburbs, departing every morning in his and hers Mercedes (black for him; silver for her), and returning home each night for dinner promptly at 7pm. Little does either of them realize, locked in their individual spaces within the marriage, that the quick trip to the pub with the guys or the client emergency is really an excuse to execute a hit.
As the plot chugs along and their double lives are revealed, John and Jane are forced to decide what is more important: work or their marriage. Given that their marriage is built on a web of lies and cover stories, the solution would seem obvious: the first to eliminate the other wins. But for John and Jane, it’s not that simple.
There are a lot of funny moments in this film, some of them have been given away by the trailer, and some of them will only be funny to a viewer who has been in any sort of live-in/long-term relationship. My only real critique of this movie is that, if anything, the performances are too restrained. I really had to work my belief in the characters to get more than the barest glimmer of emotion from either of the lead actors. Sure, the anger at having been duped by the other is there for both of them, but just barely, much the same as the affection, rather than sexual attraction, they have for each other. As a viewer you could reasonably write off the control John and Jane have over their emotions to the necessities of their profession but just a smidgen more intensity from these actors, who are well capable of it, would have helped this film immensely.
Still, a nice, light action-comedy for a hot summer day. Don’t expect too much more than that, and very pretty people to look at for a couple of hours, and you’ll get your money’s worth. 3.5 popcorn boxes out of 5 for Mr. & Mrs. Smith 
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I enjoyed it – the pretty people were enough to satisfy my interests, and I thought they had good chemistry during the fight scenes. The way I saw it was that their usual emotional restraint and distance actually made the fight scenes that much more interesting, because they went to the other extreme.
My date, however, fell asleep rather adorably on my shoulder.