It used to be kind of known as the “Nolan or ‘Dark Knight’ effect,” and it was arguably first widely felt in Sam Mendes’ “Skyfall,” where the English filmmaker admitted taking cues from the psychologically realistic, emotionally dark superhero film and applying it to his James Bond spy series. Maybe it’s just now better known as commencing from psychologically authentic terra firma, but whatever the effect is, it certainly permeates Donald Glover’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” series remake, which is, yes, comedic and funny (mostly anyhow), but takes all its cues from imaging the story from an emotionally credible place. Because let’s face it, all bets are off when killers catch feelings.
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Don’t get it twisted. This is not to say this new Prime Video “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is Donald Glover and co-creator Francesca Sloane’s (“Atlanta,” “Fargo”) grim and gritty version of Doug Liman’s much more entertainingly light-on-its-feet version (though to be fair, it is much grimmer and grittier than the version written by Simon Kinberg,), but it does subvert any expectations of similar blockbuster escapist thrills.
More importantly, it seemingly operates on the idea of much self-examination as creative launching points: what would happen if two lonely strangers were thrust into a world of mysterious espionage and arraigned marriage? And: how could marriage, or any long-term relationship, complicated enough, sustain itself in living a duplicitous life of assassinations and covert murderous obligations? And lastly: how would people—that are so emotionally damaged and borderline sociopathic enough to be selected as perfect candidates for clandestine contract hits—co-exist in a brittle, artificially constructed life of domesticity and marriage? It’s these queries that lead “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” to a lot of interesting places psychologically, mixed in with darkly funny counterespionage scenarios that are often visceral and harrowing, suffered through brutal blisters, bruises, and scrapes (literal and metaphorical). In this regard, the “Bourne” series might be another decent reference; another series that took the glamor and sheen out of spies and made it more lifelike (don’t worry, there’s no shaky cam, and it’s not that serious).
Never laugh-out-loud funny, and certainly nowhere near as absurd as, say, Glover’s “Atlanta” (nor is it meant to be), “Mrs. & Mrs. Smith” is still a compelling reimagination of an inventive premise with shadowy and truthful enough contours to make it feel like a very distinct piece of work from the original.
*One graph of minor spoiler ahead. If you’d like to avoid, just miss one graph.*
“Mr. And Mrs. Smith” begins with a prologue of stunt-casting which is honestly pretty forgettable and needless, given how strong the rest of the series is. But maybe as a way to prop it up and show audiences they mean business (plus some dark foreshadowing), the show opens with a scene of marital bliss that turns to alarm. Two rogue agents—played by Alexander Skarsgård and Eiza González— are living off the grid, away from their superiors, and seemingly gone AWOL. But before they can enjoy their morning coffee, an alarm goes off, tipping them off about trespassing gatecrashers. Through the window, they spot a vehicle barreling towards their distant farmhouse, a lethal shootout soon ensues and suddenly, everyone is dead with ruthless efficiency. The shadowy institution behind this all doesn’t tolerate spies who believe they can just abandon their commitments.
*Minor spoiler over.*
The series then launches in earnest via pre-screening recruitment. Eventually, John (Glover) and Jane (Maya Erskine from the underrated cringe comedy “PEN15”), former potential CIA recruits that didn’t make the grade, give up their identities, families, and past and then are paired off as married couple Mr. and Mrs. Smith by a mysterious and organization that sends them on hit jobs via anonymous tablet interactions (they dub the association “Hi!Hi!” after their traditional greeting message before any new operational outreach). Set up in a luxurious Manhattan brownstone; the glorious spy life offers the Smiths a small fortune and ample opportunity for lavish global travel. The catch is high-risk contracts of great, often traumatic, peril, and what’s supposed to be a complete severing of ties to family (which proves to be difficult for the more emotional and earnest John).
Glover and Sloane cleverly set up the arc of the show, their relationship and their secret assassination activities correspondingly track as a series of relationship milestones. So, as the show grows and evolves—the characters, their relationships, and their procedures advance too—as a first date, second date, first vacation, and highlights that soon become more and more challenging (first fight, therapy session, etc., etc.). As their dangerous assignments take them to unexpectedly distressing places, everything accelerates, confusing what was once just business.
More pragmatic, cold, distant, and goal-oriented, Jane wants their partnership to initially stay just a strategic partnership and ruse, no sex, no romance, all professional all the time. John, more romantic and a dreamer, agrees to the terms initially, but clearly, these damaged people also yearn for connection. And the exhilarating and scary adrenaline of some hazardous early undercover work soon turns them into earnest bedfellows, lovers, but also semi-capable contract killers (with the HiHi! threat of too many incomplete failures leading to consequences looming over their heads). Making matters worse, missions are often chaotic, this partnership certainly isn’t slick, and different occupational styles often chafe the plan.
A twisted John Turturro turns up as a brief target in an early episode as a billionaire real estate mogul, an operation gone so horribly wrong and topsy turvy, the harrowing events turn them towards the sheets. Things, however, get really interesting and sinister on their first double date: the Smiths randomly encounter another pair of Smiths. John (Wagner Moura) and Jane (Parker Posey) Smith are clearly way more experienced, carefree, and far less anxious about balancing it all, the perfect HiHi employees. But their twisted aspirations, darker edge, and daringness to provoke The Smiths towards an even higher risk echelon get extremely dark. It’s arguably also the turning point in their relationship, cracks that may just turn into grand, irreparable fissures.
Actors like Michaela Coel, Paul Dano, Sharon Horgan, and Ron Perlman turn up in amusing guest roles during various undertakings, but mostly, the show is a strong two-hander between Glover and Erskine, who totally holds her own next to her more established co-star.
Frequently directed by “Atlanta” producer and filmmaker Hiro Murai (who directs the pilot and several key episodes), “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is certainly Glover’s most mainstream creation in a while. And or, those expecting an “Atlanta”-esque take on the “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” franchise might be coming to the wrong place. But that’s not to say that its less-baggy shirt qualities don’t make it more minor; there’s just a completely different ambition and target.
Sloane & Glover co-write the pilot and finale, and Glover’s brother Stephen Glover, also an exec and a creative force on “Atlanta,” turns up to pen one of the most interesting episodes about the divisive notion of having kids (another inflection point that the honeymooners can’t harmonize on).
While “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” isn’t as comedically broad as the original, nor possesses stars with the charisma equal to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (then again, who does?), that’s not the point, and the show is still imminently bingeable. In the end, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is much more sophisticated, thoughtful and modern, a well-observed and complex look at male and female communication (and miscommunication) dynamics—both in the workplace and in relationships—filtered through a lens of cloak and dagger ops, infiltration and targeted hits (career ambitions and lack thereof is another perceptive scrutiny the show makes).
Clumsy, messy humans, prone to raw, emotionally charged decisions, responses, choices, and mistakes, lie next to flying bullets and serrated knives. There’s no need for cool slow-motion while dodging sniper shots, “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” would rather hold a frame while broken glass rains down on C-list agents in over their heads, barely surviving on their wits.  Jealousy, insecurity, fear, infidelity, in-laws, personality quirks, and flaws leveraged against each other when things go south are all part of this involved stakeout examination of how hard it is to hold onto a marriage, once the flutter of first-I-love-yous and honeymoon days have long expired.
Ultimately, “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” is a journey, cunningly threading the intricate lifecycle of a relationship—the good, the bad, and the ugly—over the course of eight up-and-down episodes that begin to grind and take a lot more effort by the end. The series argues that love is hard and maintaining relationships is work just as tough and emotionally demanding as dispatching with some poor unsuspecting soul. And who can you truly trust when your entire foundation was built upon a lie that comes crashing down? “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” ends with an enigmatic tease for more, and it feels like the rare show, well-considered in its surveillance of relationship difficulties, deserving of a second chance at love, or at least making things right. [B+]