As you probably have heard, Mr and Mrs Smith is the new film starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, in which they play spy’s who end up married to each other, after a chance meeting in Columbia. The thing is neither one knows the other is a spy – and this lack of knowledge about the others’ secret lives is absolutely destroying their marriage.

Of course, you couldn’t base an entirely original movie on this, and that’s why things go pear-shaped for the pair.

Now, the one thing which people think of one they think of this movie is Brad and Angelina, and their relationship, and how things have gone for them, etc. YES their chemistry on-screen is great. YES he is a good-looking guy, and she is an incredibly good-looking woman. YES it is easy to see why they fell for each other. NO I do not care about their private lives – and that is all I am going to say on the subject.

As regards the movie, Mr and Mrs Smith would not have been the movie it was without Pitt and Jolie – as you watch, you just can’t imagine anybody else playing the roles. Their acting talent alone gives them a dimension which not many actors can achieve, and when you combine that with being genuinely suited to these types of roles, you’ve got a winner.

But that’s not all! One surprise that I got was Doug Liman – director extraordinaire. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Liman has also directed The Bourne Identity (one of the best action/thriller movies around), Go! (one of the best random movies around), and Swingers (one of the best comedy movies around, as well as the film that launched Vince Vaughn’s career). Its safe to say that we’re in pretty good hands with Liman.

Why do I mention this? Any other director would have taken Mr and Mrs Smith and turned it into a romantic movie with a little action. Liman took the movie and turned it into something totally unique. Its got too much action to be a straight romance film, but its got too much romance to be a straight comedy film … but its got too much comedy to be a straight action film. Mr and Mrs Smith ends up being totally unique to all 3 genres, and comes across as a totally original film, with its own feel. Luckily, Liman is able to handle all of this and a bag of chips (so to speak).

In fact, the comedy was another of the big surprises. Mr and Mrs Smith is laugh-out-loud funny, and keeps a smile on the viewers face from start to finish. Brad Pitt excels in this area, proving again that he is capable of any role. While I think of Pitt as a drama actor, or an action actor, he also has impeccable comedic timing, and his reactions and facials in some scenes make the difference between mediocre and exceptional (particularly in the scene where he comes home to dinner after finding out his wife is a spy who may try to kill him – absolutely priceless).

And did I mention that Angelina Jolie is incredibly good-looking?

The cast is fairly minimal so there isn’t much to report here – as I said, Pitt and Jolie are fantastic. Totally exceptional in the only major supporting role is Vince Vaughn, as Pitt’s workmate and friend. Vaughn gets some of the best lines in the movie, and knows exactly what to do with them (especially one scene where he is wandering around with a shotgun panicking – again, priceless).

The look of the film is that of any spy thriller – darker tones, and quick cuts – but its much more than that. The whole film looks and feels like a spy thriller, but it has this funny story happening in the foreground that just enhances the rest of the film. Additionally, the action scenes are pulled off with expert skill – in particular, the freeway chase mentioned above is a scene that is right up there with any major action scene of the last decade.

Overall Mr and Mrs Smith is a fantastic movie, embodying everything that a big budget blockbuster should be – a great story, great script, great actors and great action. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Oh … and did I mention that Angelina Jolie is incredibly good-looking?