From the beginning, the TV series Mr. Mrs. Smith gave away the secret of this espionage job. There is no way out. Lest the audience forget, the "super high danger level" Mr. and Mrs. Smith who appeared in the middle confirmed this point again. When the spy couple played by Donald Glover and Maya Erskine told their predecessors that we planned to quit after saving enough money, the other party laughed, which was tantamount to revealing the secret-"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" has in and out, and out. No reply.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith" poster
Hitchcock and Doug Liman's two film versions came first, establishing the unique temperament of the "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" genre. A spy couple formed a temporary team, each with their own plans, and they were involved in secrets, intrigues and exciting missions. The highlight is that the spy partners play the roles of husband and wife. They not only have to deal with difficult tasks, but also have to be good at dancing and deal with the problems of marriage, both real and fake. The two human tips can play any role, go into all occasions, match all the beautiful scenery, and can slide through the most dangerous water without getting hurt. It's fun to watch couples like this quarrel.
After the end of the Cold War, the style of spy films was no longer the same. "Slow Horses" laments the decline of espionage ethics (if there is such a thing), the success of small things, and the bureaucracy that drains the last drop of espionage romanticism. This version of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is in a mess, and tasks often fail. The pretended couple tastes all kinds of siege and goes through the whole process of love, marriage, and breakup.
Donald Glover's production has his deep imprint. The pairing of a black male protagonist with a yellow female protagonist may seem vulgar at first glance, but the important thing is not the skin color, but the person.
Glover, who went by the name Childish Gambino when he was a rapper, can sing, write, direct, and act. His Mr. Smith is relaxed, kind, humorous, and environmentally friendly. Although he is engaged in a dangerous occupation, he has little ambition. Generally speaking, apart from his identity as a spy, this Mr. Smith retains the main character traits of Glover's screen image: sensitive, not a very energetic type (although he is very capable), and a pair of herbivore eyes that are a bit sad. ; Emotionally stable, rarely out of line behavior, but there are unpredictable parts. The accidental derailments of ordinary people bring about moments in his works that wander on the edge between reality and dreams.
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Like Glover, Maya Erskine, who plays Mrs. Smith, is also an all-rounder who can write and act ("Written Youth"). Her Mrs. Smith is tight, strong, cool, and her smile is especially precious and beautiful. A severe cold would only make her lie down, and she would be in hunting mode at any time like a predator. Mrs. Smith's most cherished thing was a cat named Max.
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If Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Mr. and Mrs. Smith still have the lingering flavor of a spy-movie romance, this pair of Smiths has moved fully into the modern era, breathing every anxieties of today and familiar with every strand of middle- and upper-class social life. Rules of light and dark. They are not willful rebels and are almost always compliant. Comply with the rules of life in the New York brownstone neighborhood, obey the rules of marriage, deal with neighbors with a moderate degree of softness and hardness, hand over the trouble to a marriage counselor when things don't go your way, and try your best to express yourself in front of the new attractive friends you make.
However, the magic wears off. Poof, once things that were originally logical and logical are disenchanted, they reveal their true colors - boring, mediocre, and just what everyone else says.
Most of the praise for the drama version of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is that the marriage part is well shot, and it is a marriage film disguised as a spy film. Actually the marriage part is just standard practice. There are eight episodes, each episode corresponds to a stage of marriage and love, from being ready to make a move, to calmly farting; from fighting side by side, to frequently failing tasks, suspicion, jealousy, and dissatisfaction gradually arise, communication is ineffective, and finally the decision is made to part ways; the process of breaking up is quite embarrassing. .
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It's not the process of marriage, but the lively love and the aftertaste after the fierce fight, with Glover's sarcastic and self-reflection as a blank space, which makes this show interesting.
In various beautiful scenes and nonsensical tasks, the Smiths went to the other side of things.
Listen carefully, be sharp and efficient, and psychological counseling can help you get out of trouble. In a beautiful suburban mansion, an elegant female psychological counselor came face to face with Mr. and Mrs. Smith. At this time, they had gone through passionate love, were tightly bound, and became teammates in the true sense, an ordinary couple. In a comfortable space, the counselor targeted the cracks in their marriage with precision. So far, everything is in line with our expectations.
After they left, the atmosphere of the bright living room changed. The consultant took off his high heels and slumped back on the sofa chair, showing his exhaustion.
Outside, the plot of Mr. and Mrs. Smith blowing up the consultant's house is both real and imaginary. There is no explanation as to why. It could be that these two people were playing an uncontrolled prank, it was a mission, or it could be that the explosion was just their fantasy. Having tried so-called "counseling," which everyone should try, they think it's just another piece of shit produced by modern society. Drop a bomb and free the counselor from a life of repeating shit.
Mr. Smith's dear mother gave him the test of "being able to understand the complexity of human nature." Together with Mrs. Smith, who has a slightly antisocial personality, they broke one stereotype after another that almost became superstitious.
During the mission, they flew to dream locations and met several rich people who were fragile, eccentric, harsh, but full of humanity. In the warm light and fire of the ski resort, Mr. and Mrs. Smith met a lovely old German couple. They are not rivals, they are really just friends who met by chance.
The inversion is not found in genre films, but in taboo parts of social life. Wandering among the happy holiday crowd, facing the kind invitation of new friends, Mrs. Smith said fiercely: "Shut up, if you don't shut up, I'll kill you." At the moment of her death, the audience was as shocked as Mr. Smith. Then what? When the couple ditches their new and annoying friends and continues their mission, do you also feel refreshed, as if deep down in your heart, you also long to offend the annoying nagging spirit?
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The premise of the show is that an unknown number of Mr. and Mrs. Smith are recruited by a mysterious transnational espionage organization. If Mr. and Mrs. Smith fail three missions, the organization will send someone to kill you. Wagner Marra and Parker Bosch, who still mesmerize you with their accents, play a pair of senior Smiths who, after a chance encounter at the market, become guests of the new Smith.
The two couples had a great time chatting and enjoying good wine and delicious food. The senior Mr. and Mrs. Smith enthusiastically shared their adventure stories and escape experiences with the newcomers. I don’t know what’s so funny, but in the rose-colored atmosphere at that time, everything was so fresh and interesting. Even Wagner Marat’s three-sneeze show was so funny that he shed tears.
Everyone has experienced floating ecstasy amidst the bizarre social situations. Although we will not be tricked into the jungle and kill each other with machetes like this couple, we must have experienced that after the party is over, the halo of new friends disappears, leaving an endless void.
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This version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has several layers. The first level is a traditional spy drama, exciting, gorgeous and fast-paced. The second level is the journey of marriage, which is templated but real. People who have experienced marriage can somewhat see themselves in it. Everyone thinks that their marriage is unique, but it turns out that everyone is dancing the same dance and passing through similar traps.
The third layer is its eyes and heart. Through the physical pain of two people, when they took a breath, they glimpsed the meaningless truth behind the mundane life.
Rich people are very tired, marriage is very tiring, work is very tiring, and socializing is very tiring. Even when you go to the sunny Sunday market, you will meet your ex. She looks full of life, engaged in design work, and never seems to tire. It doesn't matter whether she is missing a hand or not. What matters is, why does meeting her make people feel even more tired?
Life is so tiring and I can’t be with the people closest to me. In the final episode, Mr. and Mrs. Smith stage a cat-and-mouse drama in the heart of New York. In the High Line, a model of urban wilderness, people watching the scenery were frightened away by them. The spy stories that are far away from us are now very similar to descriptions and satires of daily life: Life is full of dangers, and the big boss has you under his control. Why are you still fighting to the death with the people closest to you?