Merrick here...


130 Ninjas sent in a review of the forthcoming GET SMART movie (how many Ninjas does it take to type a review?)

I've been anticipating this film since seeing its most recent trailer (HERE) - which I really liked.

Unfortunately, this review is less-than-enthusiastic...in a well-reasoned sorta way that's worrisome. Can 130 Ninjas be wrong? And, who would dare tell them if they were?


Here's 130 Ninjas...

Sorry about the length but I'm kinda verbose. Longtime listener, first time caller.

I love Steve Carrell. I think he's hilarious, I love his comedic style, I think he's awesome. So when I got an opportunity to see a free screening of "Get Smart", I was pretty excited. See a movie I had a small interest in seeing for free? With one of my favorite actors? Sure I'm going to miss "The Office", but free movie. Heck yes.

Now, I'm too young to remember Get Smart. In fact, I wasn't alive during Get Smart. I've never seen any episodes, although I recognize most of the pop culture references made in the Simpsons and other modern media. So maybe I wasn't the target audience. Of course, no one in the room would have been if that was the case. It had many funny moments. I laughed a few times. But as I drove home, I had a bitter taste in my mouth that got worse the more I thought about it. Yes, there were funny gags. Yes, there were lots of cameos, almost a "Where's Waldo" of comedians, Kevin Nealon, Bill Murray, the guy that plays Todd Packer. And yes, it was a spy movie, with the assorted gadgets and twists. But that's all it seemed to be. There was no cohesion to the story. Characters would appear for scenes then disappear for long periods of time. There were about 4 or 5 characters whose sole purpose was comic relief, and who could have been funny and built into an awesome subplot sort of situation, but never were and never did. And they had not one but two, possibly three "hanging props".

When there's a prop introduced into a scene, it has to payoff later in the movie. Not like a guy picks up a random pen, takes a drink, something like that. No, I'm talking when a gun is talked about and sits above the bar, it has to be fired. Or used. The rest of the movie you're basically waiting for it to go off. It's like an itch in the back of your mind. You want the gun to go off. You know it's going to go off. You hope it's awesome when it does. But the gun has to be fired. A hanging prop is when the gun isn't fired, isn't used. It is talked about in some form of detail and is never used after that. There were a few hanging props in this one, where a prop was talked about and not used, or it was but the payoff was so small and insignificant you wondered why they put it there in the first place.

I believe that a movie has to be greater than the sum of its parts. A comedy can't just be a series of jokes and gags, an action film can't be a series of fights and explosions, and a drama can't be a bunch of awkward and thought provoking situations. There has to be cohesion. There has to be themes. There has to be story. This is what separates the mediocre C level films from the good and the great. On this level is where I felt "Get Smart" failed. There were references to the original TV show, there were cameos, and there were funny moments and jokes, but the story wasn't there. People flipped sides without any explanation, characters changed emotion without any transition. Half the characters I didn't know what their "Holy Grail" was, that one thing that would complete their character. The actors simply moved through the scenes and I didn't know why they were even there.

So I didn't like the movie that much. One of the other audience members said he felt it was worth what he paid. I felt like I should have stayed home and watched "The Office".

Drive fast. Take chances,

130 Ninjas