DOUG LIMAN

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 2005.  Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Summit Entertainment, Weed Road Pictures, Epsilon Motion Pictures.  Screenplay by Simon Kinberg.  Cinematography by Bojan Bazelli.   Produced by Lucas Foster, Akiva Goldsman, Eric McLeod, Arnon Milchan, Patrick Wachsberger.  Music by John Powell.  Production Design by Jeff Mann.  Costume Design by Michael Kaplan.  Film Editing by Michael Tronick.

Ah, if only more couples took the Kurt ‘N’ Courtney approach to solving their marital difficulties, they’d end up looking as healthy and gorgeous as the stars of this highly enjoyable film. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play assassins for hire who keep their jobs secret from each other and work for opposing agencies. They cross paths when they are both hired to bump off the same target, and professional honour dictates that their failure to achieve their objective means getting rid of the person that was in the way. Of course, their determination is now aided by the fact that they have just found out that their entire marriage has been a lie and there are many things they can finally be honest with each other about. Although reeking with Movie Star Syndrome (nothing bad can ever happen to people this pretty, and they have to have sex or else our ideas about evolution won’t be as inspiring), this terrific action film does a great job of moving back and forth between bouncy humorous dialogue and riproaring shooting and chasing sequences. Loud and obnoxious, as sexy as Jolie’s appearance in a leather dominatrix outfit and as shallow as Pitt’s look-at-me-smirk-in-a-self-aware-manner-while-I-say-every-line style of acting (which I have to say is more fun than his look-at-me-brood-while-I-say-every-line style from the Legends Of The Fall/Interview With The Vampire days), this movie won’t convince you you’re a good person but it will at least provide you with a night of super jolly fun followed by an exciting week at the gym.