June 19, 2005

  • Mr. & Mrs. Smith
    is a delightfully fun film. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie look like they
    are having lots of fun with their characters, and director Doug Liman
    does an excellent job balancing character interactions with the action
    sequences.  The premise may be a little far fetch, and they always
    seem to survive all these dangerous situations with no problem even
    though the no names always seem to bite the big one.  But the film
    is done in such a way that all the flaws are very forgiveable, and you
    just have to throw yourself into a suspension of disbelief because you
    are having so much fun with this action flick. The true star of the
    show though is the chemistry between Mr. and Mrs. Smith.  Whether
    they are acting like they are at ends with each other, or playfully
    getting along, Brad and Angelina sold it to me.  Fun fun stuff,
    recommended. "B"

    I know I have a soft spot to "secret identity" or "secret agent" stories, but I really shouldn't have bothered with Agent Cody Banks.
    The premise is absolutely ridiculous, and looks like they didn't really
    put much thought into it.  The characters are totally unbelievable
    with some very poor over acting.  It's full of plot devices that
    just goes nowhere, or goes to places they shouldn't go. It's also a
    little bit embarassing for Angie Harmon to be that one CIA agent
    dressed in a tight outfit all the time.  Don't even think of
    equating Hilary Duff with acting. As for Frankie Muniz's Cody Banks, he
    plays it innocently enough, but is stuck with horrible script writing.
    If this is how the CIA handles things, I feel sorry for America. "D+"