Meet the Smiths… John Smith (Brad Pitt) is a devilishly handsome cavalier secret assassin who pulls off his missions with as much flippancy as his love life. But the light-hearted assassin is anything but prepared when the brunette siren Joan (Angelina Jolie) enters his life in a precarious situation in Bogotá, Columbia some five or six years previous to the setting. Be it love or lust at first sight, its all hugs and kisses and “I do’s” for the mysterious pair from the moment they meet. But five “or six” years later their upper class suburbanite life is as plain as vanilla and in want of some serious passion. Filling the silences with polite smiles and quick trips to the psychiatrists the Smith’s endure their blasé love life with a forced civility.

But perhaps the reason the Smith’s have yet to find a way to endure marital bliss is due to the precarious ambiguity surrounding their occupational lifestyles. With quick slip-outs here and there for nightly “meetings”, etc. one begins to suspect the other of cheating when in actuality both are operating as deadly hitman for secret spy agencies. With neither John nor Joan knowing of their partner’s precarious profession the two proceed to carry out their latest assignment. But when the assignment goes awry from each one’s interfering with the other’s co-op, the two set out to profile their newest adversary only to discover that it is their own spouse!

Realizing that the two have been living secret lives and, more importantly, working against each other as members of competing agencies for the past “five or six years”, the lovers determine the only solution is to kill one another and the two set out pursuing and evading each other’s attempts to make the other their latest occupational hazard. But whereas Mr. Smith found a soft spot in his heart to try to resolve the little “love quarrel”, the stone cold stoic-faced Mrs. Smith relentlessly continues her hot pursuit after the very man she swore to love until ‘death do them part’.

As the two come closer to killing one another the mystery behind their personal conundrum begins to expose itself: it seems that each of the Smith’s own agencies discovered their marital unions before the lovebirds realized the truth behind each of their ‘mysterious day jobs’. With the antagonistic agencies at each others throats for years, they are willing to lay all rifts aside in an attempt to take out their most deadly threat: the Smiths. Having intentionally pent the one against the other in their latest ‘botched op’, the agencies were hoping that the Smiths would undo each other and thereby end their little problem. What the agencies weren’t counting on, however, was for their marriage to actually weigh out against the threats of defying their professional responsibilities. But when the Smith’s nearly off one another in their own home in typical marital fanfare style, firearms and all, they unexpectedly find that long lost spark and resolve to unite in their efforts to outrun their lethal agencies before their own humane view on the predicament is undercut by their agencys’ ruthless opinions.

Loading up on artillery and factoids concerning each other’s real identity, save for the true name, the Smith’s begin to bond for the first time as husband and wife. Meanwhile they ward off their pursuers by the means of some cheeky suburban mommy mini-van driving and high-tech firearms. As the two set out to locate the target of their last botched job in hopes of offering him up as a peace offer for the latest snafu, the Smith’s find themselves forced into a corner where its due or die and ‘til death do us part’: a matrix-esque climatic action sequence tidily wraps up the film’s Hollywood esque- high tech- special effects spectacular!

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is a cavalier yet endearing portrait of two enemies/lovers who steam as much in their passion as in their rage. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie sizzle and sparks fly from beginning to end. In deed at times it seems as if the script is cast aside for the better effect of true emotion as the two smirk and dandy their way through scene after scene. Adding to the comical effect is the talented Vince Vaughan who portrays his humane mamma’s boy juvenile hitman role with the Vaughan panache Hollywood has come to love.

Coming in at precisely 120 minutes there will be parts of the plot that will wane and want more. However, plenty of action and cheeky one-liners betwixt the smoldering couple make up for whatever dull moment passes before an observable audience. In deed true tabloid fans will delight in seeing the latest ‘Us Weekly’ rumors come true before their very silver screen eyes as Pitt and Jolie slap, punch, and stroke their way from the bedroom to urban streets in this delightfully entertaining action-packed comedic romance. A palatable, albeit predictable, plot tidily wraps itself up in the end: giving the audience enough time to glimpse into the private marital conversations between two strangers just long enough to understand that love at first sight is a rare yet realistic thing, but it will require trust, honesty, and a whole lot of action!