Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s experienced director and cast make it the peak of the spy versus spy romantic comedy genre.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith shares a similar romantic spy versus spy plot as movies like This Means War, Killers, and Knight and Day. However, a significant difference is that Mr. & Mrs. Smith came out 5-7 years before the rest and is hands down the best of the group. Doug Liman was coming off his enormous success with The Bourne Identity and landed two of the biggest stars in Hollywood (especially at that time) to lead his next big spy action thriller. The script is a little clunky, but Jolie and Pitt’s chemistry and charisma carry the film. Car chases, explosions, hand-to-hand combat, gun fighting, and pretty much every other action movie element permeate every moment of the film with short pauses to laugh at Vince Vaughn’s ridiculous banter. The movie might be a little outrageous, but it’s a fun take on the spy genre from a director and actors who have proven they know the genre well.