Doug Liman is developing his own ‘Road House’ sequel.
It would be based on a script by the 1989 movie’s writer R. Lance Hill.
This would be a rival for Amazon MGM’s sequel to the 2024 remake.
Here’s an intriguing twist on the ‘Road House’ saga.
Doug Liman, who directed the 2024 remake but ended up disagreeing with studio Amazon MGM over its release on Prime Video instead of theaters (more on that below), is developing his own new ‘Road House’ movie.
That would be a completely different project from the sequel to the remake that Amazon MGM has in the works even now.
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According to Deadline, Liman has acquired the rights to R. Lance Hill’s sequel script ‘Road House: Dylan,’ which follows up the events of the 1989 original, starring Patrick Swayze as bouncer Dalton (Hill wrote that movie too).
(L to R) Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman and Matt Damon on the set of ‘The Instigators’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Liman made a deal to direct what became the 2024 ‘Road House’ which starred Jake Gyllenhaal as a new version of Dylan, this one a UFC fighter who starts working at a roadside bar as a bouncer to stop the local thugs and corrupt businessman trashing the place.
The original plan –– and Liman’s agreement –– was for the movie to hit theaters. It tested well enough to be a sleeper theatrical hit, but Amazon decided it would be released directly to Prime Video.
While Liman and producer Joel Silver even screened the picture for Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and his now-wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos, Amazon creative execs would not yield.
There was even a PR conflict, as Liman placed a Deadline article complaining about the move, but did attend the premiere. And the movie became a streaming hit, the biggest film debut ever with a record-breaking 50 million worldwide viewers in its first two weekends on Prime Video.
This new potential sequel is fraught with its own issues, as there is disagreement over who owns the rights to Hill’s original ‘Road House’ script and anything spawned from it.
What’s the latest with Amazon’s ‘Road House’ sequel?
And there is another new recruit for the follow-up to the 2024 Prime Video release, as Deadline brings word that Aldis Hodge, recently seen as the star of the company’s ‘Cross’, is now also aboard.
The 1989 original, directed by Rowdy Herrington, starred Patrick Swayze in the story of a roadside dive called The Double Deuce, a sleazy music joint in the small town of Jasper, Missouri, “the kind of place where they sweep up the eyeballs after closing”.
The owner, tired of his place being wrecked by muscle-bound “power drinkers” and provocative bimbos, hires the best bouncer in the business (Swayze’s Dalton) to cool things down. Famously, he starts off charming but doesn’t hesitate to take extreme throat-ripping measures when pushed to his limit.
For the 2024 re-invention, with Doug Liman this time in the director’s chair, Gyllenhaal took on the slightly adjusted role of Dalton, this time a former UFC fighter looking to find new meaning in his life who finds work as a bouncer at a property owned by Frankie (Jessica Williams).
The movie became a big hit for Amazon, drawing 2.3 million households between March 21st, which is when it was added to the Prime Video library, and March 24th.
At Amazon’s Upfront presentation last May –– where it promotes its upcoming movies and shows to advertisers to encourage them to purchase pricey spots on its service –– the company announced that a ‘Road House’ sequel was in the early stages of development.
Will Beall is at work on the script for the sequel, which is a mystery for now –– though a mid-credits scene in the 2024 movie showed Conor McGregor’s villain Knox wreaking havoc at a hospital and escaping unscathed, so presumably that rematch is something that could well be picked up for the new movie, though that plan might be scuppered given that McGregor has recently been embroiled in some legal scandals.
When will the ‘Road House’ sequel be on screens?
Prime Video has yet to confirm when the new movie might arrive, but given the initial reboot’s success, we suspect this new one might also skip theaters and head instead straight to streaming.
Angelina Jolie is aboard to star in new spy thriller’ The Initiative’.
Doug Liman is directing the movie.
Universal has picked it up.
If it feels like 20 years since Angelina Jolie and director Doug Liman worked together, that’s because, er, it was! Yes, believe it or not, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, about married spies/assassins who discover each other’s jobs and are assigned to take each other out, was released in 2005.
While we’re busy pondering time’s endless march and chasing the darn kids off our darn lawn, Jolie and Liman are reuniting for a new espionage thriller, this one called ‘The Initiative’.
(L to R) Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman and Matt Damon on the set of ‘The Instigators’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Frazier’s new screenplay, according to the Reporter, is described as ‘Training Day’ set in the world of spycraft.
The story would see Jolie playing a rogue master spy named Bright who works outside the lines (not the newest concept in the world). When a new agent named Charlie joins Bright’s team, he soon finds himself in situations where he isn’t sure whether his new boss is trying to kill him or simply is willing to do whatever is necessary to protect the free world.
While both Jolie and Liman have busy schedules, the studio is hoping this one can hit the fast track, and film early next year.
What else is Angelina Jolie working on?
Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Jolie was most recently seen in award-nominated biopic ‘Maria’ about opera singer Maria Callas, and also wrote, directed and produced war parable ‘Without Blood’, which has so far only been released in Italy following a festival run.
Next up for her in terms of release is ‘Couture’, written and directed by Alice Winocour, which sees Jolie as American filmmaker Maxine, who arrives in Paris for Fashion Week on a life-and-death journey, facing challenges and self-discovery.
And, as per usual, that’s just a sampling of what she’s either worked on or attached to. The busy filmmaker will also pop up being interviewed in documentaries including ‘World Food Programme’ and a variety of movies including ‘Anxious People’ and another action pic, ‘Maude v. Maude’.
When will ‘The Initiative’ be in theaters?
Universal, which is still putting the finishing touches to the deals for this one, has yet to specify a release date.
But if it does shoot next year, we’d guess a 2027 release isn’t out of the question.
Angelina Jolie as Fox in director Timur Bekmambetov’s ‘Wanted.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.
(Left) Director Doug Liman attends Apple Original Films’ world premiere of ‘The Instigators’ at the Jazz at Lincoln Center. ‘The Instigators’ opens in select theaters on Friday, August 2, 2024, before streaming globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 9, 2024. (Right) 1994’s ‘The Stand’. Photo: ABC Television.
Preview:
A new version of Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ is in development as a feature film, with Doug Liman on board to direct.
Liman has directed hits like ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ and flops such as ‘Chaos Walking.’
‘The Stand’ has already been adapted twice as limited series, and it’s not clear how the massive book could be boiled down to a single feature film.
Stephen King’s massive post-apocalyptic novel ‘The Stand,’ first published in 1978, chronicles an epic battle between the forces of good and evil in an America where most of the population has been wiped out by a deadly virus known as Captain Trips. It remains one of the author’s most popular books; he published an uncut version in 1990 that restores some 300 pages to the text, bringing its length from 823 pages in its original publication to a hefty 1,152.
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The book has been adapted twice for television, first in 1994 as a four-part, eight-hour (with commercials) miniseries for ABC-TV, and then as a nine-part, nine-hour limited series in 2020 for CBS All Access, the forerunner of the current Paramount+ service. And now director Doug Liman is reportedly teaming with Paramount Pictures to bring ‘The Stand’ to the big screen.
Although other filmmakers have tried squeezing the novel into a theatrical film (or films), no one has been able to pull it off. And frankly, Liman shouldn’t bother trying either. He’s the wrong director for this and — from what we understand — he’s got the wrong take on the material.
‘The Stand’ is one of Stephen King’s most revered works, not to mention one of the most influential post-apocalyptic novels of the last five decades. King’s book is wide-ranging and complex, full of intersecting narrative threads and dozens of characters, and its sheer size has made it a daunting prospect for a film version from the start. Directors like John Boorman (‘Excalibur’) and George A. Romero (‘Creepshow’) couldn’t pin it to the mat in the 1970s, while the 2010s saw David Yates (the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise), Ben Affleck (‘The Town’), Scott Cooper (‘Black Mass’), and Josh Boone (‘The New Mutants’) all take a crack at it.
The first adaptation of ‘The Stand,’ the 1994 miniseries starring Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Ruby Dee, Rob Lowe, and others, was a tremendous ratings success for the network. Directed by Mick Garris and adapted by King himself (who also executive produced), the project cost $28 million – a fortune back then for a TV miniseries – and, while hampered in some ways by the format and budget, is considered largely faithful in both tone and narrative to the book.
The second limited series, produced in 2020, was an outgrowth of Josh Boone’s proposal to adapt the novel as four films. The 2020 series, developed by Boone and Benjamin Cavell (‘The Institute’), also had a good cast – including James Marsden, Amber Heard, Alexander Skarsgård, and Whoopi Goldberg – but was fatally injured by the inexplicable decision to tell the story out of order, ruining the flow of King’s narrative and making the series nearly incomprehensible. ‘The Stand’ is structured like a modern version of an epic quest – joining the quest halfway through and then flashing back to the beginning was a catastrophic mistake.
Even after the mixed results of the two TV series, one thing seems clear: it’s not possible to boil ‘The Stand’ down to a single film. Scripts for even a three-hour feature – a risky, costly bet to begin with, especially for a movie that would almost certainly be rated R – have existed since the 1970s, and none have been workable. But Doug Liman is going to try, even though he shouldn’t.
Doug Liman’s ‘The Stand’ is wrong for all kinds of reasons
(L to R) Casey Affleck, director Doug Liman and Matt Damon on the set of ‘The Instigators’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Doug Liman allegedly has “a particular take” on ‘The Stand’ that doesn’t involve making multiple films but would somehow fit into a “one-off” movie. But there is no way that the book, whether it’s 800 pages or 1,100 pages, can be shrunk down into a two-to-three-hour movie without losing a great deal of its essence and texture. Whatever Liman’s “take” is, we fear it would render ‘The Stand’ almost unrecognizable (see the dismal 2017 movie version of King’s other epic, ‘The Dark Tower,’ for proof of that).
The larger the production, the more involved the VFX, the action, and the world-building, Liman seems to lose control of the project, often needing to find the movie he wants to make either through reshoots, re-editing, or both. It’s an expensive, wasteful way to work, and it’s another reason why a complex narrative like ‘The Stand’ might collapse under his supervision.
Liman is far from untalented – he’s made some fine movies, his methods notwithstanding – but his improvisatory style seems ill-suited to this. And that’s even before the challenge of trying to squeeze it into one film – imagine if Peter Jackson had tried that with ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Our hope? That ‘The Stand’ joins films like ‘Gambit’ and ‘Justice League Dark’ as Doug Liman projects that never saw the light of day. If anything, Liman needs to go back to the smaller, spunkier films of his early days where his style of directing works best. In the meantime, let ‘The Stand’ rest. It’s only been five years since the last attempt, and there are plenty of other books out there – by Stephen King and countless others – to adapt.
Doug Liman in developing an adaptation of ‘The Stand.’
Stephen King’s 1987 tale is considered among his best.
Paramount Pictures is backing the new movie project.
There are certain things you can count on in life. The changing of the seasons. The tides of the sea. A studio or filmmaker deciding to adapt a Stephen King story.
Paramount Pictures is, per The Hollywood Reporter, teaming up with the director to adapt the novel into a movie, bringing to the big screen something that has previously been miniseries.
The book, first published in 1978 then revised in 1990, is a bar-setting literary genre offering that has long influenced pop culture and inspired many other takes on post-apocalyptic narratives across different media.
An ambitious story of good vs. evil, it takes place in an America after a virus wipes out most of the population and follows dozens of characters in overlapping storylines running over many years. And while readers root for the characters such as the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail, the final showdown came down to a group of survivors fighting the Antichrist-like Randall Flagg in the wasteland known as Las Vegas.
‘The Stand’ has, as mentioned above been adapted twice as a miniseries, once in 1994 and again in 2020 (pretty sure no one was really ready to watch it as Covid initially gripped the world), and as comic by Marvel Comics.
There’s a reason it has primarily been made into miniseries form: the book is King’s longest work, with a whopping page count of 1,152.
The history of people trying to adapt it into a movie is a litany of different filmmakers, none of whom got it over the finishing line: directors including George A. Romero,David Yates to Ben Affleck and Josh Boone (the latter ended up involved with the 2020 miniseries) have tried to tackle the material, and Warner Bros. and CBS Films partnered on developing it in the 2010s.
Now Paramount, working with Liman and producer Tyler Thompson of Cross Creek Pictures (who previously helped the director shoot Tom Cruise effort ‘American Made’ for Universal) are meeting with writers to develop Liman’s particular take –– described by THR’s sources as a one-movie idea rather than trying to launch a franchise –– into script form.
What else is Doug Liman developing?
(L to R) Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau and director Doug Liman from Apple Original Films’ “The Instigators” make an appearance at View Boston. Photo: Marion Curtis / Starpix for Apple Original Films.
Liman is a real genre-hopper who hates being tied down to one sort of movie, and he has several other plates spinning right now.
Right now, he’s shooting ‘Everest’, which stars Ewan McGregor as British mountain climber George Mallory, the explorer who made multiple attempts to scale the titular peak throughout the 1920s.
And then there’s ‘Deeper’ in development, an underwater supernatural thriller that is being targeted for Cruise and Ana de Armas (because as the latest ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie can attest, Cruise loves spending time underwater).
The director keeps talking about the potential for another Cruise reunion –– a sequel to sci-fi ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ though despite the tantalizing prospect, it remains just out of reach.
Then we have the big maybes, such as a movie that could be shot on the International Space Station, starring –– you guessed it! –– one Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, a new movie adaptation of ‘The Saint’ TV show and a variety of others.
That’s not even getting into his list as a producer, but to document all of those would take probably about the same word count as ‘The Stand’.
When will ‘The Stand’ be on screens?
While Liman is a director who can get movies made, even the fact that it has a studio attached is no guarantee that this will either move quickly or even reach screens.
Add to that the fact that the movie doesn’t have a writer aboard yet, let alone a cast, and we’d expect to be waiting a couple of years for this one. So, er, stand still for now?
In the years since the movie arrived to underwhelming box office, it has risen in popularity, and talk of a sequel has popped up from time to time, usually driven by one of the filmmakers.
(L to R) Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise in ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Photo: Warner Bros.
When Earth falls under attack from invincible aliens, no military unit in the world is able to beat them. Major. William Cage (Cruise), a cowardly propaganda officer who has never seen combat, is assigned to a suicide mission.
Killed within moments, Cage finds himself thrown into a time loop, in which he relives the same brutal fight –– and his death –– over and over again. However, Cage’s fighting skills improve with each encore, bringing him and experienced soldier Rita (Blunt) ever closer to defeating the aliens.
Tom Cruise in ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Here’s what Liman said about the potential follow-up:
“We keep talking about it. We love that world. I don’t know how long Cameron took his Terminators, but at the time if felt like a long time.”
And according to him, he hopes the movie finds a second life, like some of his other work.
“Tom and I just actually rewatched it about two months ago, because I hadn’t seen it in 10 years. I was like, ‘Wow, that is a really good movie.’ I haven’t necessarily always had the good fortune of having movies that have huge opening weekends. ‘Bourne Identity’ lost to ‘Scooby-Doo’ on its opening weekend. And ‘Swingers’ came and went from the theaters. What I’ve come to understand is, I’m making movies for the long term. I’m an ego-driven guy, I’d like to get accolades now. But I also recognize that, if I was given the choice, I’ll choose making films that people 50 years from now are still watching.”
Is an ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ sequel likely?
Tom Cruise in ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Photo: Warner Bros.
Given that the movie did decent if not stellar box office, ($370 million from a $178 million budget), it hasn’t exactly been a priority for Warner Bros.
Still, according to Christopher McQuarrie, who helped get the script into shooting shape (and who regularly works with Cruise, most notably on the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise), an idea exists for the new possible movie.
“We had such a cool idea for a sequel. I would have loved to see that come together. It’s just that so many stars have to align. It’s a really tricky one.”
Emily Blunt in ‘Edge of Tomorrow’. Photo: Warner Bros.
But later in 2024, we’ll see them in meatier roles for a new crime thriller called ‘The Instigators’, in which they play two thieves pulling off a desperate robbery.
Apple TV+ was quick to snap this one up and has the first images from the movie online.
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What’s the story of ‘The Instigators’?
Rory (Damon) and Cobby (Affleck) are reluctant partners: a desperate father and an ex-con thrown together to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police, but also backwards bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses.
Completely out of their depth, they convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to join their riotous getaway through the city, where they must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture –– or worse.
And for Damon, this was a chance to reunite with his ‘Bourne Identity’ director. This is what he said:
“I absolutely love working with Doug. I can’t believe it took us 20 years to find something else to do together. Doug is one of the most creatively tenacious people I’ve ever met. He just won’t stop until the movie is as good as it can be, and that is the best possible thing you can feel from a director. I trust him completely.”
“‘The Instigators’ is about two strangers who are hired for a heist. They become frenemies and then become friends while Jack Harlow yells at us, Paul Walter Hauser insults us, Ving Rhames hunts us, and Hong Chau keeps us alive.”
When will ‘The Instigators’ land on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ will start streaming the new movie on August 9th. Hopefully Liman is already aware it’ll be going directly there; we don’t need another ‘Road House’ protest.
(L to R) Matt Damon and Casey Affleck in ‘The Instigators’. Photo: Apple TV+.
Despite being beloved now, the original ‘Road House’ was not a great movie. Really, it was a “so bad its good” movie and has since become a nostalgic classic thanks mostly to Patrick Swayze’s bizarrely serious performance in a film that didn’t deserve that much effort. So, what happens when you remake an essentially bad movie? You just get another bad movie!
Removing all the mystery behind the character of Dalton, his Eastern philosophy, and the unintentional humor, the result is a paint-by-numbers action film that never really works on any other level. Despite some unique direction in the fight scenes from filmmaker Doug Liman, and a charming and strong performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, ‘Road House’ will leave viewers unsatisfied and longing for the silliness of the original.
The movie begins by introducing us to the character of Elwood Dalton (adding a new first name for the remake), played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Dalton is a down-on-his-luck ex-UFC fighter who accidentally killed an opponent in the ring, and now cannot get anyone to fight him. He soon meets Frankie (Jessica Williams), who owns a bar in the Florida Keys called “The Road House.” (Yes, that’s now the name of the bar and its never really explained why.) Some locals are causing trouble, and she hires Dalton, who unlike the original has no experience bouncing, to clean up her establishment.
Upon his arrival, Dalton befriends a young girl named Charlie (Hannah Love Lanier) and her father, as well as some of the other Road House employees and a local doctor named Ellie (Daniel Melchoir), who he begins a relationship with. After expelling some of the riff raff from the bar, Dalton discovers that rich businessman Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) is behind the trouble and is trying to get Frankie to sell him the bar so he can tear it down and build a luxury hotel. Having his hands full with Dalton, Brandt hires a madman named Knox (played by real UFC fighter Conor McGregor) to take him out.
The updates to the story only work to eliminate any of the humor and charm of the original movie and make this a more standard action movie. Dalton’s UFC background is an interesting 2024 addition, but completely strips Dalton of the mystery that made the character interesting in the first place. In 1989’s ‘Road House,’ Patrick Swayze’s Dalton was a professional bouncer, and had a philosophy (“Be Nice”) that formed his personality. He was also a mysterious character, with no first name, no home to call his own and a sorted past. The new film tries to establish itself as a modern Western but fails on many levels.
While I liked the idea of adding the UFC background, it doesn’t work and strips the character of everything that made him unique in the original. If director Doug Liman wanted to make a movie about an ex-UFC fighter troubled by what happened in the ring, he should have just made that movie and left the ‘Road House’ franchise alone. Again, it’s not like the original was some great movie no one should touch, but if you are going to remake it, try to include some of what made the first movie popular over the decades.
I will give Liman credit for some fun and exciting fight sequences, both in the ring and out. For Dalton’s UFC flashback scenes, (and again, we don’t want to know about Dalton’s past, we want it to be a mystery, but I digress) Liman wisely shot during a real UFC fight and those scenes were excellent. Liman has the camera right in the ring and you feel every punch and kick. The fight scenes in the bar are great too, especially when Dalton and Knox face off. Liman uses a Steadicam for those sequences and rarely cuts, giving off the illusion of one long take. But there are other fight sequences that seemed more contrived, like when Dalton first fights the bikers, in a very ‘Jack Reacher,’ “Are you sure you want to do this” type of way.
This movie belongs to Jake Gyllenhaal, as he’s the only one giving a decent performance. While I don’t agree with many of the changes that they made to the character and the story, you can’t help but root for Gyllenhaal’s Dalton. The actor captures much of the charm and charisma that Swayze had in the original, while also being physically believable.
We’ve seen the actor physically transform before, playing a boxer in the excellent ‘Southpaw,’ so his action scenes are completely believable. Now, I expect that in real life Gyllenhaal would be no match for Conor McGregor, but you do think that while outmatched, Dalton does have a chance against Knox, and that is because Gyllenhaal is so believable in the role.
Speaking of McGregor, he’s also fun in the movie thanks to his wild character and performance. Physically, he is exactly the type of person you need in a movie like this, and he is clearly having fun playing his cartoonish yet dangerous character.
Daniela Melchior plays Ellie, Dalton’s love interest, a role played by Kelly Lynch in the original. Melchior is a great actress and was excellent in ‘The Suicide Squad,’ but is let down here by the screenplay. She has nice chemistry with Gyllenhaal, but is never really allowed to explore it, not in the way Swayze and Lynch did in the original and their relationship is never established enough to work when the script needs it to in the final act.
In fact, all the female roles are underwritten, which was disappointing to say the least. The role of Frankie the bar owner was gender-swapped from the original, but Jessie Williams is given almost nothing to do but recruit Dalton and seems to disappear halfway through the film. They hint at an attraction between Dalton and Frankie, but that is never explored.
Even Hannah Love Lanier’s Charlie is not given enough to do. Dalton makes a connection with her early in the film only to give the bad guys leverage against him in the third act. She basically disappears through the course of the movie as well, and I would have liked to have explored that character and her relationship to Dalton more.
‘No Time to Die’s Billy Magnussen plays Ben Brandt, which is the remake’s version of Brad Wesley, the villain in the original played by legendary Hollywood actor Ben Gazzara. I have to say that I don’t understand the need to make this a younger character. Brandt never gets into a physical fight with Dalton (although even Gazzara and Swayze had a fight scene in the original), so why the character was made younger, I have no idea? But it doesn’t work.
Instead of playing an older former mob boss who controls the town with his power, Brandt is instead the son of an imprisoned mob boss, trying to run his father’s crime family how he sees fit while still looking for daddy’s approval. The result is a crybaby of a villain that you neither fear nor care about. Magnussen does his best with the poorly written role, chewing up some scenery, but it never really amounts to much on screen.
To be fair, ‘Road House’ is at times just as dumb and fun as the original, but that’s not saying much. Gyllenhaal’s performance is solid, but the actor deserved a better script. The action sequences are good, thanks to Liman’s camera work and Gyllenhaal and McGregor’s performances, but the poor script, focus on the UFC, and nonsensical changes from the original, strip the movie of any originality, mystery or silly fun that we may expect from the franchise.
‘Road House’ receives 4.5 out of 10 stars.
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What is the Plot of ‘Road House’?
A former UFC middleweight fighter (Jake Gyllenhaal) ends up working at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys where things are not as they seem.
(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Premiering on Prime Video this week, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ loosely –– very loosely –– adapts the 2005 Doug Limanmovie that saw Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie playing married assassins unaware of each other’s secret job whose stale relationship is re-ignited when they’re assigned by their competing agencies to take each other out (and we don’t mean on a date).
But the new series shares really only the title and the most basic concept with the movie. Instead, here we have two strangers who apply for a job that sees them partnered up and moving through the various stages of relationships in their fake coupledom even as real feelings develop and the missions become more perilous.
Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ deployed monsters as metaphor for teenage angst, body changes, and concerns. ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ tries a similar trick (though hopefully without the problematic future Joss Whedon of it all), utilizing the central couple’s various experiences as a mirror for a developing relationship.
It’s not a completely 1:1 situation, though some episodes play to that much more than others (episode 5, for example, sees the duo forced into a situation where their charge, played wonderfully by a superbly grumpy Ron Perlman is effectively a substitute child) but in general, the idea works.
Sometimes the balance of character work to action can be off-kilter, and not everything about the main dynamic works (Donald Glover and Maya Erskine have decent chemistry, though it takes some time to find its groove). Which, we suppose is how all relationships start and end up working.
But on the whole, it’s an entertaining peek into the various marker points of the relationship and the series format certainly offers more scope to explore the character levels than anything in the movie.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’: Script and Direction
(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Though Glover originally developed the show with ‘Fleabag’ creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creative differences saw Waller-Bridge depart and Glover instead create the show with his ‘Atlanta’ cohort Francesca Sloane (who runs the show here).
The writing for the series carries some of the hallmarks of Glover and Sloane’s past work (though none of its experimental, random nature which probably wouldn’t have worked for this). This time around, their focus is on the burgeoning relationships and using the spy missions/job as a giant metaphor for an evolving connection between two people is one that largely works well, even if it does mean there tends to be a larger focus on interaction between the two main characters rather than the action side of things. Jane and John are written decently, though they may end up testing the patience of some audiences.
As for the metaphors, they run the gamut from excellent to exhausting. One episode, where our main pair meet and spend time with another “John” and “Jane” is at times interminable (no fault of the actors involved). But the mission-of-the-week format means that if you don’t spark to one episode, you may well enjoy another.
Directors Hiro Murai, Christian Sprenger and Karena Evans (the first two have ‘Atlanta’ experience on their busy resumes, the latter has focused more on music videos and other TV series) bring a fresh, dynamic look to the show, and if the action moments aren’t quite up there with the likes of the ‘Mission: Impossible’ or ‘Bond’ franchises, that’s because it isn’t the main point here. This is a relationship drama with a side of set-pieces.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’: Performances
(L to R) Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
With the guest cast almost constantly changing (only one or two people beyond the leads appear in more than a single episode), the weight is very much on Glover and Erskine. As people who have both been the focus of TV series they co-created, they’re both more than able to carry the load of leading roles.
Of the two, Erskine comes off better, getting to show more development than the slightly more disconnected Glover. She’s excited for the opportunity to begin with, but you can really see the weight settle upon her as the season moves on. Keeping the metaphor of the relationship going, she becomes more and more disenfranchised as she realizes she’s holding up more of her end in terms both missions and personal life.
Which is not to say that Glover is bad –– his John Smith is a man who seems far less willing to leave his old life behind (a nod towards the usual commitment issues found more often in men than women) –– and he has some superb moments as the relationship develops and, at times, sours.
(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Neither of the main pair are natural action stars, but they do their best, aided with a decent stunt team.
Around them is an ever-changing roster of others: Paul Dano is a good-looking neighbor who Jane takes a shine to, while Wagner Moura and Parker Posey are the other John and Jane who share the double date that ends awkwardly (and dangerously). Again, as mentioned above, the actors are perfectly fine in their roles, they’re just let down a little by the episode’s script.
Perlman, meanwhile, is wonderful in his role as the mysterious man that John and Jane are assigned to protect.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’: Final Thoughts
(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
If it sometimes stretches the concept a little thin, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ is an effective mix of spy thriller and marriage drama with the emphasis on the latter.
Those seeking the next ‘Atlanta’ won’t find that here, but then, that wasn’t the point –– and as adaptations of movies go, this at least has the confidence to truly be its own thing.
‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
(L to R) Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
What’s the story of ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’?
Two lonely strangers land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan.
The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John (Donald Glover) and Jane (Maya Erskine) navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone.
Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?
Prime Video’s ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ has launched its first trailer.
The show stars Donald Glover and Maya Erskine.
The series launches on February 2nd.
Once upon a time, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith‘ were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, playing married assassins whose relationship had begun to feel stale. But when they discover their shared, hidden sides, things spice back up –– even if neither might survive it.
In taking that idea, ‘Atlanta’ creator and co-star Donald Glover has given it a slight twist (see below), recruiting Maya Erskine to play Mrs. Smith to his Mr.
From the looks of the first teaser, the show certainly manages to bring both the funny and the action levels, so this is one we’re anticipating.
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What’s the story of ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’?
(L to R) Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
While it has a similar basic concept to the 2005 Doug Liman movie (famously the project where Pitt met and ended up married to co-star Jolie), the new series puts a fresh spin on the story.
Here, Glover and Erskine play two lonely strangers who land jobs working for a mysterious spy agency that offers them a glorious life of espionage, wealth, world travel, and a dream brownstone in Manhattan.
The catch? New identities in an arranged marriage as Mr. and Mrs. John and Jane Smith. Now hitched, John and Jane navigate a high-risk mission every week while also facing a new relationship milestone. Their complex cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. What’s riskier: espionage or marriage?
Who also appears in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’?
Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Glover co-created the series with Francesca Sloane, one of his ‘Atlanta’ colleagues. Christian Sprenger, a fallow ‘Atlanta’ veteran, is the main director.
Originally, ‘Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge was aboard to co-write and co-star, but because of creative differences, she left the show in 2021.
“I worked on that show for six months fully in heart and mind and really cared about it — still care about it. And I know it’s gonna be brilliant. But sometimes it’s about knowing when to leave the party. You don’t want to get in the way of a vision. Creative collaboration is like a marriage, and some marriages don’t work out.”
When will ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ be on our screens?
All eight episodes of the show will debut on Prime Video on February 2nd.
(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Maya Erskine and Donald Glover in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.(L to R) Donald Glover and Maya Erskine in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Credit: David Lee/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios.
Preview:
