Mr. & Mrs. Smith Series: 5 Things From The Movie To Bring Back (& 5 To Avoid)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith premiered in June 2005 to mixed-to-positive reviews. Critics praised the very palpable chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie but were critical of the writing and execution. The film was a box-office success, grossing $487.3 million against a production budget of $110 million, but the huge scandal surrounding Pitt and Jolie’s relationship did undercut its achievements.

With the recent announcement that a television reboot will air on Amazon in 2022, starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover, audiences were instantly on board with the idea. The talent involved is exciting enough and the story has several key things in its favor, but if the project is to succeed in 2021, some very necessary changes need to be made.

10 Avoid: Personal Scandals

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s relationship was the stuff of Hollywood dreams and nightmares. Not only was it seen as the reason why Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston ended, but it also cast Jolie in the uncomfortable and somewhat unfair role of the home-wrecker. At one point, Madame Tussaud’s even staged a scene from Snow White, casting Aniston as the Princess, Pitt as the Prince, and Jolie as the Evil Queen.

Brangelina’s relationship arguably contributed to a lot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith‘s success, but it also overshadowed any of its possible achievements. The show’s stars are immensely likable, so it’s unlikely they’ll get into any personal controversies.

9 Bring Back: Basic Premise Of The Film

Mr. & Mrs. Smith follows a bored upper-middle-class suburban couple who discover they are assassins working for competing agencies. It’s an interesting enough premise that captures the viewer’s curiosity but the original film fails to live up to its full potential.

With more hours to tell the same story, the streaming reboot has an immediate advantage. They can take all the extra time to truly develop the characters and make audiences care for them, something the original film didn’t quite achieve.

8 Avoid: Style Over Substance

Many action projects ultimately feel unsatisfying because they prioritize elaborate fights and showy car chases over character development and plot logic. Mr. & Mrs. Smith commits these same mistakes, especially with its over-the-top and nearly implausible third act.

The series needs to find the right mix of action setpieces and engaging plot points to make the project feel worthy of the viewer’s time. It also needs to avoid overkill, especially once the obligatory final battle comes. Too many explosions get tiresome after a while.

7 Bring Back: Subverting The Rom-Com Genre

At its heart, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the story of a couple trying to escape routine and rediscover their passion for each other. Sure, it’s contained within a fun premise, but the basic purpose of the story is to have these two characters reconnect with each other.

In a lot of ways, the film is a romantic comedy that just happens to include guns, a classic yet not entirely successful subversion of the genre. If the series is to differentiate itself from the film, then it needs to anchor the story entirely on the love story at the heart of it all, and surround it with enough action and comedy to truly elevate it.

6 Avoid: Tired Gender Roles

The film is very interested in perpetuating gender roles, which is strange considering its premise. Jane is the one in charge of the house, expected to cook and serve dinner and look fabulous doing it. She works at an all-female agency where every woman is depicted as glamorous and somewhat uptight. John, on the other hand, is depicted as a laid-back spy who almost works freelance, a classic “bro” with a gun.

These portrayals may have worked back in 2005, but they wouldn’t fly in 2021. The series needs to move away from tired concepts, like the sexy female spy, and truly provide something new and refreshing for modern audiences.

5 Bring Back: Hilarity Squared

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Donald Glover are two of the funniest, most talented actors working today. They should be able to display their considerable comedic muscles in the series, to say the least. The original film mainly relied on Vince Vaughn’s character to provide the obvious jokes, but the reboot can be entirely different.

Jane and John should be tailored specifically to display Bridge and Glovers’ innate talents for comedy. The Smiths should no longer be stiff, nearly stoic figures, but instead dynamic and relatable. Their boring situations should be conveyed in a more compelling and charismatic way.

4 Avoid: Gratuitous Sexualization

Early scenes of the film show Jolie’s Jane while she’s on a mission. She is meant to kill an arms dealer and does so by posing as a dominatrix. Wearing a revealing latex outfit that even includes a whip, she pretends for a while before simply killing her mark.

In reality, there’s no actual reason for Jane to go through all that trouble and it’s clear the scene is just a reason to show Angelina Jolie is a revealing latex outfit. The series needs to avoid these sort of stereotypical and gratuitous displays and provide Jane with a more complex characterization.

3 Bring Back: Action-Packed Sequences

A big part of any action film is the insane set pieces that they manage to come up with it. Mr. & Mrs. Smith features some truly inspired action sequences, mainly the escape from Jane’s agency and the fast-paced car chase down a busy highway.

The series needs these sorts of sequences at least once per episode. Perhaps not an elaborate chase, but at least a fast-paced, well-choreographed fight. It might be harder to keep the momentum going for six or seven episodes, so a balanced mix of thrilling action sequences and character development will be key for the show.

2 Avoid: Inaccurate Depictions Of Foreign Countries

The original film had a second controversy. The government of Colombia heavily criticized the film for its inaccurate depiction of Bogota. In the film, the city is presented as a small village in the middle of a hot and humid jungle, whereas the real-life city is a bustling center with rather cold weather.

2021 projects can no longer afford to take such creative liberties with real-life locations. Accurate cultural depictions of foreign countries need to be a must for any Hollywood, big-budget production, and this reboot should stay as far away as possible from controversies.

1 Bring Back: Chemistry, Chemistry, Chemistry

It’d be silly to downplay just how intense the chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is. In any scene of the film, their raw, sexual attraction is more than evident, even when they’re already bored with their lives and struggling with their marriage.

Waller-Bridge and Glover need to be able to re-create the same chemistry if the series is to be successful. Their connection needs to feel real and worthy enough that they’re willing to go against their agencies to protect it. It’s no small task, but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Phoebe and Donald.

About The Author

David Caballero
(802 Articles Published)

David is a twenty-eight-year-old Mexican writer and reader. Having studied Marketing in school, he spent three years working a nine-to-five desk job before deciding to pursue a writing career. He now works as a Senior Writer in ScreenRant and does some more freelancing job, talking about the entertainment business he so loves. Currently, he’s also writing his second novel while actively working to get his first one published.

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