A Must See Series: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” Movie Series (2024), Film Review

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the newest highly anticipated American Action, Comedy-Drama, Spy-Thriller television series created by Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover, based on Simon Kinberg, 2005 film, Mr. & Mrs Smith (Brad Pitt/ Angelina Jolie) with a literal plot twist. 

The new series premieres Friday, February 2, 2024 on Amazon PRIME Video in conjunction with Gilga, Cherry Pop Productions, Wells Street Films, Amazon MGM Studios and New Regency. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the series, stars Actor-comedian, Artist, Director, and producer, Donald Glover (ATLANTA, Swarm, The Martian) and American Actress and Writer, Maya Erskine (Man Seeking Woman, Mikki in Betas, and ‘Mizu’ in Blue Eye Samurai) who share an undeniable and charming chemistry on screen. The two portray two unusual strangers in career transition, who land positions with a spy agency, offering them a life of espionage, luxury, travel and high-risk assassinations. The catch-22 is that they must assume new identities in a legally binding arranged marriage, discontinue contact with their family members, friends or anyone from their past life; maintain remote only access with their unidentifiable boss, who is referred to as, ‘Mr. Hi-Hi’ and navigate around a suspicious neighbor that may have the propensity to pry into the fabricated ‘personal lives’ of the new couple next door, who’s cat keeps defecating in their flower beds. As the series unfolds, appearances are expected to be made on screen by Parker Posey, John Turturro, Wagner Moura, Paul Dano, Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Sharon Horgan, Ron Perlman, Billy Campbell and Ursula Corbero.

The first 2-3 minutes of Episode 1 of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the series, opens with two unidentified agents in hiding, suspected as ‘Mr. Smith’ and ‘Mrs. Smith’, on the run. There are no details providing their exact location but it is assumed the two have gone rogue and their fleeing ends tragically; their death a job opening and segue to the interview screenings process of our newest agents, played by Erskine and Glover; both having been recruited by ‘The Email’ as new recruits.  Paired together during the last round of interviews for their partnership, the seemingly unlikely couple, Glover, who plays, “John Smith”, the curious and initially, more communicative in the pair and Erskine as “Jane Smith”, a type-A, secretive, Cat-lover assumes residence in a brownstone in New York City, becomes acquainted through day to day interactions and their first mission to trail, target, collect and deliver an unidentified package. By the close of episode 1, the couple get an explosive taste of the rush and risk that come as a part of their new assignment.

Episode 2 of Mr. & Mrs. Smith opens with the couple adjusting to one another, growing closer through curiosity and chaos. Jane ventures into John’s things who finds her in the act, and Jane, nonchalantly, openly admits to her peeking and peaking interest in the man she is legally newly married to. A light hearted exchange is shared over salmon bagels, conversations about the inquisitive-hot next door neighbor who has an annoyance for their cat, Max. The couple agrees to a new pact, not to consummate their official-unofficial marriage. The conversation leads to their second mission from ‘Mr. Hi-Hi’ to attend a silent auction, a black tie event, where the two are urged to “dress to impress”. 

The next set of orders are clear. “Step 1: identify the high bidder of Andy Warhol’s iconic piece, ‘Silver Car Crash’. Step 2: Administer a single dosage of truth-serum, not to exceed a single dose; record any and all information the target gives you. Follow a few rules, no casualties. ABSOLUTELY NO WITNESSES.”

The couple arrive at the black-tie affair and John has the brilliant idea to enter as catering staff and not as ‘Mr. Smith’, to offer himself more movement through the crowd. Jane works the room, hilariously easing her ways out of her antisocial tendencies by gagging at herself in the mirror before taking on her lead position in mission two. Taking to the gallery floors, Jane loosens up with champagne served by John, who reassures he is not too far and that she is not alone disarming their target. 

For a professional marriage, the two begin to work well not to leave each other’s side. John scouts the room, collecting intel on the highest bidder for the acclaimed Warhol piece, ‘Silver Car Crash’, where he meets with their target, Eric Shane (John Turturro), a Real Estate Mogul, whose net worth is that of 15 Billion Dollars. Jane moves in and initiates conversation with the affluent tycoon who continues to brush off her efforts to get close enough to him to administer the serum. The spectators are probable witnesses who become an obstacle, so Jane offers Shane a rendezvous to “play with his money” to curb his boredom as he casually strolls the on the showroom floor. Obliged, Jane chooses a waiter to bring along, and selects John who follows both Jane and Shane into a secluded room in the art gallery. The billionaire wastes no time in instructing the two willing participants to partake in a bizarre game of role playing as dogs, with sexual tension building between the two. 

Intrigued by the back and forth, Shane joins the two in the animalistic role play and begins to pant while on his knees, circling the couple; on impulse, both Jane and John administer one dose each of the truth serum to the mogul, incidentally overdosing him. The situation quickly spirals out of control as the Billionaire panics, darting out of the private space, back on to the showroom floor where he is prompted to share a few words after being announced as the recipient and highest bidder of the graphic Warhol painting. With unethical confessions spewing, left and right and a room of witnesses, the Billionaire is whisked away by the incriminated couple; who are terrified they have been exposed along with a few other dignitaries whose reputation have been soiled during Shane’s confessional rants. Racing back to their Brownstone home, with no antidote for their fatal error, the two are left with the task of keeping the poisoned Mogul alive. After a tragic ending to a stressful evening, the morning sees them barely moving through the stiffness of reality from yesterday’s failure, ever present in their next course of action. The two are left disenchanted by their new high-risk, low-rewarding roles and in disbelief at how quickly their new life as man and wife, agents incognito, has shaken them to their core; driving them to make love on the floor of their entertainment room. The Episode closes with the flashing response from Mr Hi-Hi: “1 Mission Failed. 2 Fails Remaining” in their work queue, before the unnamed consequence with no disclosure, flashes across their screen as an “Incomplete Mission”.

Moving into episode 3, a new assignment arrives, “Hi-Hi, Welcome to the Italian Dolomites” and finds the agent duo, turned couple, indulging in a more romantic exchange, beginning their next mission checking into the Fanes Hotel in Alta Badia located in the heart of the Dolomites with a picturesque scenery of the village of San Cassiano, Italy. Their directive is to observe and report on their suite mate neighbors, Gavel and Parker Martin; bug the cellular devices they carry and record an important call scheduled at 5pm, on the second day of the trip. Strong emphasis is placed on the pair, “Do Not Fail. Thanks.”

This episode finds Jane and John maturing in their partnership turned official romance. Their mission is to trail Gavol and Parker Martin, government officials and her spouse who are in the midst of a troubled marriage  and on the edge of a divorce. The newly wedded agents are nearing the end of their honeymoon phase and Jane finds herself reluctantly falling for John, refusing to accept the depth of her feelings until John nearly loses his life in hand to hand combat after saving Gavol from a ransom kidnapping. The maturation of Jane’s feelings for John begins to cloud her judgment and John’s who finds himself detaching from his professional partner and official new love, for some breathing room. The two manage to carry out their mission, bugging Gavol’s phone and trailing the dysfunctional couple; however, John’s untamed ego and ethics won’t allow him to not interfere in the involvement of their targets as he saves the life of the official, altering the instructions given. 

John’s need to “be a hero” may be what compromises the long term success of the team as casualties pile up and interfere with the strategic plans and agendas set in place by, “Mr. Hi-Hi”. Jane continues to urge her spouse and partner of the level of consideration he needs to have; such as completely cutting ties (specifically not keeping in touch with his mother) at the expense of his safety and hers. The episode closes with Gavol returning to her husband, who willfully denied the ransom made by the terrorist that would have saved her life. Both couples find themself rekindling the flame of passion between them, and reigniting the love that they share for one another. 

This new series, Mr. & Mrs. Smith opens with a strong start in its first 3 episodes and proves itself to be worth every moment of engagement. From the unsuspecting climatic turn of events, the high speed adrenaline rushes, conflicts and to the comical and relatable nuances and friction between the colleagues turned couple, the show promises to be a satisfying adaptation of the original 2005 film,  Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Erskine’s portrayal of her character and demeanor is every woman in 2024’s approach to love, from the guardedness and her desire to not be “too vulnerable, too soon” and John is every man’s early desire to “chase his object of affection” only to pull back and regain his sense of self and independence once it feels too suffocating. What makes the show satisfying is experiencing the constant tug and pull of the couple’s romantic exchanges, our desperate hope for a pleasant outcome between the two and the cringing moments witnessing how their romantic dysfunctions translate into their collaborative work as contract spies. Glover and Sloane masterfully scripted a parallel universe of man and wife alongside career rises and pit-falls, the fears of near death experiences and fatalities that accompany the couple’s careers; commanding, at best, the audience’s fascination with the series.