Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

The fun never stops with John Powell, and so the movies he scores apparently. Whether action based (the Bourne's) or the comedy he scores (Robots) he is always onboard on the next fun project. And describe Mr. & Mrs. Smith as the next fun installment, at least considering in mere adrenaline and action frolics. Its more loosely based the action, its supposed to be fun and not too serious, and so why not choose the composer who always makes it fun? Of course, the movie is based kinda on the approach of True Lies (as it was based on La Totale!), anyway here not only the husband is an undercover agent but also the lady of the house, and both are of course sexy as hell, to make the passion surrounding the action even more hot flavored. Anyway, it did well at the box office and perhaps this resulted in the song as score release of the movie, weeks after its release in the cinemas. And Powell of course is becoming a favorite of many, this all played a role in the generous release of Lakeshore Records, starting already with what people will call a Mask of Zorro rip off, but more then ever based on Mission: Impossible 2 of Zimmer, of course that was based on Horner's in the first place, ah impressions. Anyway 'Bogota' has the Spanish guitars, the Zorro feel but with the undeniable Powell flavor, stating here the theme (kinda based on Bourne perhaps). This theme is restated in 'The Bedroom', only lighter on guitar. The funny attitude in 'Playing House' (light trumpets) and the handclaps (more Zorro) along with strings ala Bourne and Paycheck, you feel the flair of his older scores is never away, this all in 'His and her Hits'. 'Desert Foxes' has the first signs of the Bond flavor's, as said in his scores (especially his secret agent affairs) he inserts these snippets to Bond and again it works under the handclaps as rhythm. The 4 minute 'Dinner' has after a minute a light comedic tango, rising to the end with some guitar and strings, its Powell's way of saying, "I underscore everything with a touch of finesse". It never stays simple or at least expected, there is always a flair to be discovered.

The score might lack real action music, the fun moments are ever-present in the score, like the handclaps and guitar leading to a Road to El Dorado boogy in 'Hood Jump', and this leads to the real deal, 'John Drops In' having energetic strings, brass, electric guitar showing real groove, as ever with Powell this kinda thing never fails. Briefly the main theme in 11, its surprising to see how little the theme appears on the disc, but then again it doesn't center around it also, making the rest of the ideas more then interesting. 'Tango de los Asesinos' has accordion, piano, guitar and a beat, but it only explodes near the end in the Powell frenzy with the strings making it on fire this composition. The drums ala Robots never let up in 'Kiss and Make Up' but its again the action sound in 'Minivan Chase' which is adorable, percussion, beats, trumpets ablaze sounding cool as Bond and the constant strings, Powell keeps bringing it likeable with his ever so fun style. Sadly, these tracks are perhaps a bit too short, and the longer tracks (9, 13, and 'Shopping Spree') are perhaps not as good as that, still the brass is good but the underscore in the middle sadly ruins it a bit. The main theme ends 'The Next Adventure' and the album, with again the licks towards Bourne and Paycheck, its the typical Powell finish with the trumpets on Spanish mode. To hear John Powell perhaps doing his thing here is like revisiting all his crime / secret agent scores again, but then with the exotic Spanish tango flair added to it for the spice. True, the sound is distinguishable but also distinguishably Powell and therefore alone, the inventive orchestration is so high you at least keep your ears on the prize. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a cool addition to the Powell cannon and while perhaps not as good as Paycheck, its got more of those fun moments where Powell simply adds rhythm, brass, strings and his voice to an already winning action / adventure moment. Who's your daddy now?

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Bogota (1.36)

2. The Bedroom (1.09)

3. Playing House (1.33)

4. Assignments (1.10)

5. His And Her Hits (2.44)

6. Office Work (2.08)

7. Desert Foxes (2.36)

8. John And Jane's Identity (2.00)

9. Dinner (4.13)

10. Hood Jump (1.44)

11. Mutual Thoughts (1.01)

12. John Drops In (2.29) Excellent Track

13. Tango De Los Asesinos (4.26)

14. Two Phone Calls (1.51)

15. Kiss And Make Up (1.51)

16. Minivan Chase (2.12) Excellent Track

17. Shopping Spree (4.17)

18. Dodging Bullets (1.19)

19. The Next Adventure (3.28) Excellent Track

Total Length: 44.02

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=== Link to Composer Site: John Powell ===