If you look at this film as merely another glitzy Hollywood spy thriller/spoof -- in the grand tradition of say OUR MAN FLINT or KINGSMAN -- then it is merely an "8". As in great writing, acting, direction, casting and generally a lot of fun.

So far, so good.

Here is the trick -- for viewers of the future, when we mere mortals have come and gone, but the IMDb lives on, this is better viewed as a time capsule.

The two stars were, to under-state it -- at the peak of their fame and charisma. I recall from the time a survey which conclusively showed, for example, that Angelina was not merely the hottest woman in show business but possibly (these surveys tend to over-state) the hottest woman on the planet.

(To be fair, they only surveyed living men. If the dead had also been allowed to vote, who knows, maybe Helen of Troy would have won?) And the Bradster was also at his peak.

Once you understood the hidden and secret dynamic of the film, it becomes both iconic and classic, and will be entertaining viewers for a very very long time.

(PS == watch Vince Vaughn before TRUE DETECTIVE, also of historical interest)

John Smith and Jane Smith has the perfect marriage. Well, not quite so perfect. And they've been keeping secrets from each other. They work for rival firms that do outsourcing work for the CIA. (Sadly, this would be better if viewers didn't know this for the first twenty minutes of the film, but the previews already gave it away.)

Based on the preview, I thought this would be a Pitt-Jolie lovefest. I have enjoyed many of Pitt's films but not so many of Jolie's. And together, it was like a showcase of perfection for the American masses. Do I need to be reminded I'll never be handsome or rich? (Some will say movies help us escape this, and maybe it does, but still...)

My concerns were unfounded. This movie is well-acted, well-directed and well-written. The story is layered and brilliant, as well as quite funny. The direction fits well. The acting is superb, some of the best from Brad Pitt yet. And the explosions and gunfire and things breaking and high-tech gadgets? Very nice - someone put a lot into this film and/or has some natural talent I hope we see more of in Hollywood.

I don't know if this film is PG-13 or R. I heard it was PG-13 because a sex scene was cut. Well, let me say: you should have kept the scene and kept the R. With all the excessive violence (really over the top) and the cussing, a little smut isn't going to make much difference. I mean, as an action film, I expect a solid R rating (look at Bruce Willis and "Die Hard" or "Hostage").

No real complaints about this movie. I really want to say something bad, but I cannot. I was entertained the whole time and found the film very persuasively believable. I don't know who wrote or directed this (I guess I could check, but I didn't) but they just scored points in my book. Unless it was Michael Bay, but I'm pretty sure he had nothing to do with this.

John and Jane Smith have been married for five or six years and there marriage is going through a bit of a rough patch… the events that follow will either bring them back together or kill them! Each of them thinks the other has an ordinary job but in fact they each work as assassins for rival organisations; when they get sent after the same target there is bound to be trouble. They end up shooting at each other and the target gets away; believing they could be identified each is given forty eight hours to kill the other. At this point they don't realise who the rival assassin was but when they find out they quickly stop trusting each other and start trying to shoot each other! After shooting up the house they realise that they genuinely love each other; the problem is now both their organisations are using all their resources to eliminate Mr and Mrs Smith!.

While this isn't a classic film it is rather fun in a very silly way. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie do well in the leading roles even though they have both been better in other films. The story is of course preposterous but if you can suspend your disbelief and but your brain in neutral it is worth watching. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and the action is fairly intense without any gore or real unpleasantness… the final shoot out manages to be action packed and hilarious at the same time! Over all I'd say this is definitely worth watching if it is on television or if the DVD is in the bargain bin.