Is Donald Glover's Mr. & Mrs. Smith Series Better Than Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie's Movie? The Critics Weigh In
Espionage plus marriage equals some good TV.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie exuded smoldering espionage sexiness in the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, earning its place as one of the best action movies of the 2000s. Now Donald Glover has taken over as the titular spy John Smith, who is paired up with Maya Erskine’s Jane Smith in a pretend marriage scenario for a new series that can be streamed with an Amazon Prime subscription. Critics have seen the reboot ahead of its February 2 release, so how does it compare to the action romantic comedy of nearly 20 years ago?
From what we know about the Mr. & Mrs. Smith Prime Video series, it puts a bit of a twist on the movie’s plot. Rather than having spouses John and Jane discover that they’re working for rival spy organizations, the show will see the spies as strangers who are forced into a marriage for the sake of a mission. So how does it stand up to the movie? Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge likes how the series reworks the original premise and becomes a layered drama about relationships. The critic says:
Kristen Baldwin of EW praises the performances of and chemistry between Donald Glover and Maya Erskine — who replaced Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the leading role, after the latter left the project due to creative differences with Glover. Baldwin gives the series a grade of A-, saying Season 2 is all but guaranteed for a reboot as good as this one. She continues:
Alison Herman of Variety agrees with the above review, calling this Mr. & Mrs. Smith a “new and improved” version of the 2005 blockbuster. The actors make a case for why this story was better-suited for a series than it was a movie, because it takes the time to explore the marriage between John and Jane, the critic says, writing:
Nicole Drum of ComicBook.com rates it a 4 out of 5, saying the deviation from the film’s premise makes the series “fresh and relatable,” elevating the spy drama to an action-packed adventure that’s also a portrait of the challenges relationships face. Drum continues:
Saloni Gajjar of AV Club gives the series a B+, agreeing with the other critics that the relationship is what makes Mr. & Mrs. Smith such a success — which might seem like that shouldn’t be the case for a show about espionage — but Donald Glover and Maya Erskine expertly pull it off. In the critic’s words:
Not only does the Prime Video series seem to live up to the excitement that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie provided 19 years ago, but the above critics seem to think the series is even better. The examination of the spies’ marriage certainly seems to give the subject matter some weight, and other critics agreed, with Mr. & Mrs. Smith holding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% Fresh from the 32 reactions so far.
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If you want to check out the reimagined premise, all eight episodes will be available to stream on Friday, February 2, on Amazon Prime Video, and be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.
Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.