Review by Mr. and Mrs. Smith – the perfect way to recycle old intellectual property

Did you look Mr and Mrs Smith, the 2005 Brad and Angelina action comedy, recently? How, Strictly speaking Check it out and don’t just let your nostalgic memories of it play in your head. Mr and Mrs Smith was at the center of pop culture in the mid-’80s for many reasons that had nothing to do with the actual film, and for a few that did: It’s sexy fun with huge stars, and director Doug Liman knows how to put together a good one Action scene. The elevator pitch – two professional assassins are married to each other but know nothing about each other’s job – is good.

But right now, in 2024, it’s almost unobservably strange. It’s one of those not-so-old films that is so specific to its time that it feels like it’s aged beyond its years. The bitter humor about marriage being hell misses the point. The two tracks look hot, but seem somehow unreal, as if they were the premature product of aging technology. There are some questionable digital shots, and the cinematography and camerawork – all handheld, all high contrast, always solid orange and teal – are extremely 2005. It’s just not a movie that plays anymore, and even though it was a huge hit and caught tabloid attention, it’s not talked about much anymore.

Th at makes it an odd choice to be adapted into a Prime Video streaming series. Or maybe not. Maybe the choice of star Donald Glover and co-creator Francesca Sloane is actually genius.

In the current phase of the streaming wars (a phase we may be on the verge of putting behind us, but that’s another story), studios have not allowed themselves to be shaken in their belief that every level of intellectual property prominence is better than no creative people were showered with invitations to rework this or that old film. Very rare, like Noah Hawley’s unlikely success Fargo, an anthology series created in the spirit of the Coen Brothers’ cinematic masterpiece, worked. More often this is not the case. Sometimes the failed results were at least interesting, like Amazon’s strange reimagining of Dead Ringers. Sometimes, as in the case of the uninspired retread of Fatal attractionthey were both pointless and boring.

Glover and Sloane’s inspired decision was to choose a film from the studio’s menu that was famous but plain and not particularly popular, with dated iconography that could easily be discarded and a strong concept that got to the core can be reduced and rebuilt completely from scratch. That’s exactly what they’ve done, creating a delightful series that’s almost the opposite of its inspiration while sharing its core values: it’s fun, sexy, shiny and exciting, built on the chemistry of its two leads.

The structure is significantly different. Glover and Maya Erskine’s John and Jane Smith are not rival assassins hired by chance, but were deliberately brought together by the same shady employer to give up their previous lives to start a new one together. While Pitt and Jolie begin the film as flawless professionals trapped in domestic boredom, Glover and Erskine are awkward, hesitant newbies exploring their dangerous new profession and budding relationship together.

This is a show that presents a lightly seasoned, well-observed take on contemporary work and relationships with a sideline of covert operations. It might take a few episodes for viewers to get used to it Mr and Mrs Smith

‘s unique world. It’s intimate and conversational, with a loose approach to the action that’s not concerned with realism or plausibility, and the drama and stakes are constantly lowered even as the Smiths delve into increasingly outlandish mission-of-the-week fare. Scenarios become complicated. It’s a cool, light-hearted relationship drama about people who happen to be elite contract agents (but also gig workers of sorts). That’s not to say there aren’t thrills – there are some close calls and a later episode set on Lake Como has a standout, drawn-out car chase – but it’s easy to see where Glover and Sloane’s interest really lies lies: The action is just as broad – brushstrokes and silly, as the Smiths’ dialogue is plausible, complicated and sophisticated in its details.

Mr and Mrs Smith – in contrast to those who are cinematically ambitious Fargo For example, the show that Sloane worked on and also did for Glover’s Atlanta – also has no illusions about which medium it belongs to. This is basically a TV show. It features elegant, sophisticated imagery, beautiful filming in New York and Europe, pretty architecture and cool fashion (Glover’s looks are it). to the point). But the scope is small and the 40-minute episodes are succinct, discreet and satisfying short stories. Each of them advances the Smiths’ relationship, pairing them with a series of one-off guest stars who often serve as the couple’s mission. It’s a killer line-up of famous actors: John Turturro, Sharon Horgan, Parker Posey, Ron Perlman, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Michaela Coel and more. Perlman is great as a sad, childish oligarch with a killer Hitler joke, while Paulson delivers a brutally accurate parody of a couples therapist.

This is just a great TV format, in theory Mr and Mrs Smith could go on like this forever; it reminds of Poker face in the way it attempts to rehabilitate old-school case-of-the-week television. However, Glover likes to play with the form, e.g Altanta – although in this case on a much less experimental scale. Mr and Mrs Smith is only a few episodes old before it starts breaking its own mold. It’s cleverly done, but it may not leave Glover and Sloane much scope for a potential second season.

Maybe that’s why Mr and Mrs SmithThe main motivator is the relationship between John and Jane, and it is vital to the drama that this continues. Glover and Erskine are simply irresistible: likeable, prickly and gentle at the same time, damaged but competent (to a point) and very believably in love with each other. Their scenes together exude the pleasantly bitchy intimacy of two people who are inseparable partners in absolutely everything, and when something goes wrong between them, the show’s light-hearted surface cracks enough to reveal real hurt.

Mr and Mrs Smith is an entertaining piece of escapism that revolves around a complex, warm and relatable love story. Glover and Sloane have made something new and refreshing out of a film that’s past its sell-by date. If we are only allowed to see new things based on other, older things, we can be happy if a fraction of them are made with as much wit and creativity as this one.

Mr and Mrs Smith is now streaming on Prime Video.