Get Smart Review

"Get Smart" reviews

Movie

Get Smart

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-06-12 20:50:37

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Would you believe the summer movie comedy season just got a lot Smarter? Steve Carell proves he's the king of laughs. He's hilarious.

Story

Based on the iconic 1960s television series, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the new 2008 big-screen incarnation of the show smartly goes its own way, faithful in spirit, but charting a new course for Maxwell Smart and company. With Steve Carell in the lead, this Max is a likeable, reliable paper-pushing analyst for spy agency CONTROL, who dreams of one day of becoming a top agent out in the field himself. When CONTROL headquarters is attacked and nearly all the other agents identities are compromised, he gets his chance. The Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to bench his number one, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson), in favor of Max, now Agent 86. Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway)--a far more competent and experienced agent--in order to thwart the terrorist plans of KAOS, lead by Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his right-hand man Shtarker (Ken Davitian). This Get Smart is a full-out action-comedy with the emphasis on action. The actors make all the derring-do and wild on-screen antics totally believable.

Acting

There is no question that Don Adams and Maxwell Smart are interchangeable. It's almost impossible to imagine another actor in the role, which is why Steve Carell has made all the right choices, choosing to take his Max in a different direction. This is no imitation at all, but a fully fleshed out bumbling guy with dreams of his own. Carell is very funny trying to deal with gadgets out of his, er, control--using code language, getting his signals mixed up and trying to be a decent partner for the much smarter 99. Hathaway gets to act tough for the first time in her career and makes this 99 a bright woman who is obviously light years ahead of all her male colleagues. Both stars skillfully handle the considerable physical humor required here. After scoring in his surprise family hit The Game Plan, Dwayne Johnson continues to show his comic timing as the superstar agent who is grounded against his will. Stamp and Borat's sidekick Davitian are amusing caricatures but stuck with rather one-dimensional, over-the-top villain roles. Arkin is perfectly cast as the beleaguered Chief, while James Caan as the U.S. President has little to do but does it well. Bill Murray's cameo in a tree trunk just lays there.

Direction

Director Peter Segal's experience working with comedians like Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy clearly pays off here, as he guides Steve Carell to one of his best screen performances against daunting odds. People always have built-in expectations for pre-sold properties like a Get Smart, but Segal wisely uses the source material to make it work for two kinds of audiences: those who loved the TV series and those who have never heard of it. Key to the success of this adaptation is taking the characters and placing them in big action set pieces. What was an amusing weekly sitcom is now suddenly competing favorably with summer blockbusters, delivering stunt-filled sequence after stunt-filled sequence. In fact, there is almost too much action, but fortunately Carell and company know how to bring it down to earth at just the right moments. The screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember catches the flavor of the old TV series, retaining much of what we loved--including Smart's famous catch-phrases ("Missed it by THAT much!)--but craftily updating it for today's more sophisticated movie-goers. They got the blessing of the show's famous creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who served as consultants. That can only be a good thing.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Movie

Get Smart

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-08-22 12:00:27

Provider

MRIB

Review

Steve Carell recreates Maxwell Smart, the classic character from the 60's TV spoof spy show and transplants him into the 21st century.

Max is always the bridesmaid never the bride. A nerdy back-room analyst who wants to be a field agent in Control's intricate spy operation. But despite his high scores in tests and tactics he never gets the promotion. However, when Control's secret underground headquarters comes under attack and all their field agents are compromised by the evil forces of Chaos he's one of the few agents available to retaliate. So he's finally promoted by The Chief (Alan Arkin) and goes undercover with Agent 99 (the lovely Anne Hathaway) to solve the mystery of how Chaos could have got into Control's HQ and what their devilish world domination plans are.

Slick slapstick and shtick are order of the day for Carell as the lead. He's accomplished at this stuff and makes it all looks so easy. Hathaway's got a surprisingly good comedic touch too, though she's largely his 'straight-woman' foil and eye candy for the boys. Dwayne 'Don't call me The Rock' Johnson plays up his comedy acting chops too as the unstoppable and totally adulated by all Agent 23.

Cameos come raining down in quality form too: Bill Murray is a sidelined agent who turns up in a tree, Terence Stamp is the head of Chaos, and David Koechner, Nate Torrence and 'Heroes' Masi Oka pop up as more bumbling Control agents.

So if you have a top (well cast) cast, an almost writes itself plot and plenty of gags to plunder from the in-vogue 60s this should be a cinematic home run - on paper and least.

However, visual and physical gags aside this all seems a little rushed and flat. Episodic events are stapled and plastered together to drive the gags along and, whilst you can't deny the laughter value, there is a definite lack of cohesion.

As is typical of these films, the biggest laughs are in the trailers and clips floating around on the web.

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