If you look at this film as merely another glitzy Hollywood spy thriller/spoof -- in the grand tradition of say OUR MAN FLINT or KINGSMAN -- then it is merely an "8". As in great writing, acting, direction, casting and generally a lot of fun.
So far, so good.
Here is the trick -- for viewers of the future, when we mere mortals have come and gone, but the IMDb lives on, this is better viewed as a time capsule.
The two stars were, to under-state it -- at the peak of their fame and charisma. I recall from the time a survey which conclusively showed, for example, that Angelina was not merely the hottest woman in show business but possibly (these surveys tend to over-state) the hottest woman on the planet.
(To be fair, they only surveyed living men. If the dead had also been allowed to vote, who knows, maybe Helen of Troy would have won?) And the Bradster was also at his peak.
Once you understood the hidden and secret dynamic of the film, it becomes both iconic and classic, and will be entertaining viewers for a very very long time.
(PS == watch Vince Vaughn before TRUE DETECTIVE, also of historical interest)
So far, so good.
Here is the trick -- for viewers of the future, when we mere mortals have come and gone, but the IMDb lives on, this is better viewed as a time capsule.
The two stars were, to under-state it -- at the peak of their fame and charisma. I recall from the time a survey which conclusively showed, for example, that Angelina was not merely the hottest woman in show business but possibly (these surveys tend to over-state) the hottest woman on the planet.
(To be fair, they only surveyed living men. If the dead had also been allowed to vote, who knows, maybe Helen of Troy would have won?) And the Bradster was also at his peak.
Once you understood the hidden and secret dynamic of the film, it becomes both iconic and classic, and will be entertaining viewers for a very very long time.
(PS == watch Vince Vaughn before TRUE DETECTIVE, also of historical interest)