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Did Capone Get Off On GET SMART??
Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here.
It's sort of amusing that many of the films I had the highest expectations for this summer have let me down, and then a movie like GET SMART comes around, for which I had fairly low expectations thanks to some abysmal trailers, and it ends up being pretty damn good. There aren't as many laughs in Get Smart as I would have liked, but the ones that are there hit almost every time thanks to perfect casting and confident direction by Peter Segal (TOMMY BOY; ANGER MANAGEMENT; 50 FIRST DATES; THE LONGEST YARD).
The solid humor in this offering covers up the fact that GET SMART has very little in common with the much-loved Mel Brooks/Buck Henry-created television series starring Don Adams as the bumbling Maxwell Smart. Steve Carell's version of Agent 86 isn't in any way inept.
If anything, he's so good at his job as an analyst for the covert agency CONTROL that his boss (Alan Arkin as The Chief) doesn't want to promote him to full field agent. But when a list of all CONTROL field agents is leaked to the group's rival organization KAOS (led by Terrence Stamp's Siegfried), Max is promoted and paired with the lovely Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway filling the high heels of Barbara Feldon), who resents being teamed with the rookie.
It doesn't take long for her to see Max's skills as an agent, and shortly thereafter, the two get a little snugly as they take on KAOS, which is in the process of selling stolen nuclear weapons to the unstable governments of the world.
This is not the Maxwell Smart who talks into his shoe or drives the souped-up little sports car (although Carell does manage to do both in the movie for nostalgia's sake). And this modern Agent 86 does manage to get out a few "Missed it by that much" and "Would you believe…?" lines for old-times sake. But this GET SMART seems equal parts action and comedy. Chases, explosions and other dangerous stunts fill this film.
And while there are still a few antics back at CONTROL headquarters (courtesy of fellow agents played by Terry Crews and David Koechner), the film is saved by Carell's chemistry with Hathaway, as well as Arkin's perfect delivery. Dwayne Johnson (it's okay to stop calling him The Rock, I think) is also on hand as Agent 23, the only agent who respects Max's skills as an analyst and defends him repeatedly. Johnson looks good in a suit, and his comedy chops aren't too shabby either. There are some nice cameos that will tickle fans of the original show. Yes, Agent 13 is here, and the show-closing appearance of another special CONTROL agent was enough to make me wish for a sequel. And then there is James Caan as the very stupid President; he's fantastic.
Devotees of the television show may have mixed feeling about the film GET SMART. That show's magic and unique sense of humor just isn't here. On the other hand, this movie gives us something more in step with modern spy movies. When he was filming GET SMART, Carell said the film was like asking, "What if Maxwell Smart was suddenly given Jason Bourne's job?" That about hits it on the head. This is certainly Carell's best purely comedic work since THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and makes up the miserable EVAN ALMIGHTY. When all is said and done, the movie made me laugh.
And while the action sequences aren't exactly groundbreaking, they aren't too shabby either; in some cases they're damn hilarious. I considered myself a big fan of the TV show repeats in my formative years, but I haven't seen an episode in more than 15 years. That being said, I found the film hugely entertaining, charming and more than a little ridiculous (Max ballroom dancing with an overweight woman is glorious).
I'm guessing most people are going to go for this the same way I did.
Capone
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Damn You Michael Bay
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Jun 20, 2008 9:10:20 AM CDT
They should have promoted this like they promoted Evan Almighty
by mahaloth
And...first!
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As an enormous fan of the original series, I'm just hoping for something half-decent. Nice to see the Rock again, the further he distances himself from wrestling, the better.
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It sort of made Capone laugh a little. Sounds like a DVD rental at best.
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starring shia lebouf
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I guess its a "duh" observation, but having seen some clips, the direction just seems like typicaly fast cuts obscuring the action, comedy, and feeling.
"Tragedy is a close-up, comedy, a long-shot" -Buster Keaton -
....Anne Hathaway!
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From the previews, it looks like they filmed "GET SMART" with the cheapest HD camera they could find. I thought movies shot in video couldn't look worse until I saw that trailer.
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Bill Murray? Or Steve Carrell & The Rock kissing each other??
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but seriously, who could not have chemistry with Hathaway?hot damn.
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I'll probably see it anyway.
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Looks like the same old tired slapstick garbage that comes out every summer. Meyers will get roasted for recycling HIS jokes in Guru, but at least he isn't recycling the same gags that have been around since the silent era like this drivel.
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Who would win?
TomBodet has a bit more variation, though it eventually does come down to the same meme "Daleks can't climb stairs".
However, you have to admire MCMLXXVI's relentlessly staying on message without deviation no matter what. -
The scathing reviews for Smart and Love Guru are funnier than the awful films.
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Jun 20, 2008 9:55:00 AM CDT
This sounds like what Johnny English SHOULD have been
by shut the fuck up donny
and I actually had marginal enjoyment of Johnny English. That being the case, I should be exceedingly pleased with this film.
So I'm easy to please--wanna fight about it? -
Although Chuck owes a lot to Get Smart having paved the way. The bottom line is while this movie looks entertaining enough, I feel like I see it every week on TV already.
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???? I don't know what to say about this movie. Just that it looks like something I've seen a million times. That and I can't believe we are still getting Entrapment gags? In fact this movie looks like it should've been called Son Of Entrapment or Entrapment but with a dumb guy not Bond. Yeah I know the differences. Plus it looks like Dwayne has the same role he had in Reno 911 Miami. Hopefully this will get Terry Crews his own movie.
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For the love of god please. He's got some acting ability, he's charistmatic, he's funny, he's got an action heroes physique. Why hasn't he starred in a decent action film yet? Where's his terminator? His rambo?
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and that chick was funny too.
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think. whew.
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I found that I kept "wanting" to like it more than I really did, but it's entertaining. Probably a little better than I-Spy. Carell is good. This is his type of role: the too serious book type with a heart of gold.
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he plays a way too serious of among a bunch of misfits and he's in a love triangle with his boss. That'd make a fun movie.
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He is a legend!
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in something. They look similar and have similar acting styles I bet they'd work well together.
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that is all.
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if you're thinking "holy shit holy shit there's a swordfish about to ram through my head, then yes" alan arkin is the shit
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Oh yeah. Myers is out. In with the new.
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they just use the title and the names of teh characters...and on that basis alone, it should get negative reviews...and fuck segal
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Hey, I just told a funny joke...didn't you see that funny face I made? Waddya mean "not funny"? It was funny in my last seven movies!
Go away, Mikey. You are no longer relevant. -
I'm only going to say this once, so let's get it straight and then move on...
ANYHING WITH LAUREN GRAHAM IN IT IS AUTOMATICALLY AWESOME.
Lorelai Gilmore is as cute as they come, and she was in full cute mode in Evan Almighty, so for all the flaws the movie obviously had it simply CANNOT suck with her in it! -
But who am I to say it's all him. The scripts aren't always perfectly funny anyway. The movies always look as nice visually as you'd expect a comedy to. Seems like he works a lot of mediocre into something entertaining.
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can't wait for harry's positive review of the love guru!!!!
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To seriously stop picking on Mike. I mean his dad died just recently like 17 years ago. And the Love Guru is just his way to show his dad that he hasn't learned anything new since he died.
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Man...wow....that was hilarious and mean.
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LMAO.....
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Would it be better if they acted like Siskel and Ebert? Those guys shit on more classic movies than any 10 critics. They "thumbs downed" more movies that went on to with the oscar, conquer the box office or both. This of any movie you have liked since 1978: and one of them trashed it. If I payed strict attention to any critic, either a) every movie sucks b) every movie is great. AICN approaches citical review as a fan to at least attempt to enjoy movies. Other critics exist to spew bile and rip films a new asshole in ways that 98% of the moviegoing public don't care about. Just because a critic does/does not agree with *you* (whoever you are) is no measure of how good or bad the critic is. critics miss by a mile in both ways all the time. There is little chance that audience members will think and react precisely like any given critic. And some here are content to hate everything anyway.
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But it did get a 54% to the Love Guru's 14%. If that means anything for you. I'll tell you what: talk about Myers needing a hit. Yes, thats true, but Steve needs a hit like a crack whore needs a hit. W. the diseaster of Evan Almighty and DAn in real life this clown really needs this to do good business. Plus he has four capable supporting actors around him to help w/ the turnout. i.e. Hathaway, Rock, Arkin coming off his Oscar and Terrance Stamp of course.
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...he's nowhere near as desperate as you make him out to be. He's doing just fine.
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I've disagreed with Capone's last two reviews. I hated, I mean HATED The Crappening while apparently Capone loved it and I liked the Incredible Hulk while he trashed it. Maybe I have no taste but it's starting to feel that whatever Capone feels about a film, I will feel the opposite. Have to wait and see more reviews of this film although the Rotten Tomatoes score doesn't help.
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I thought it dragged a little when it started trying to be an action movie instead of a comedy but it was a fun diversion. I'm a big fan of the old show and all the supporting players and gadgets were well represented here.
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I realize my post was a little harsh, but the truth is I'm a HUGE fan of films and the point i was trying to make was the fact that Hollywood in general has been churning out a steady stream of shit as of late and this USED to be a website that called them on it, AS FANS of films. That ain't the case anymore and we all know it, for whatever reason the "critics" on this site keep giving passable reviews to films we all know are crap. I mean fuck, look at the films reviewed just over the last month! The only time anyone even gets close to calling something shit is first, to kiss the ass of the filmaker. THEN talk about "what went wrong" with whatever new turd they plattered up for us. I like AICN, but what happened!
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Mike Meyers should just stick to doing "Shrek" if he can keep his massive ego in check.
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...or six months, and you've got the next Angelina Jolie. Seriously, though, a buffed Anne Hathaway could rule the world. We Canadians would be proud to have her as our Queen.
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If you were running a contest to see who contributes the least amount of content to TB's, MCMLXXVI would win hands down. I don't really know about Tom Bodet's posts so I cannot really comment on them, but I am guessing they are a lot of nonsense.I fail to see why anyone admires moronic content. I know I come across as a complainer lately, but the lack of intelligent discussion is exactly why. I see no humor or any value whatsoever in MCMLXXVI posting "Damn you Michael Bay" in every fucking talkback. If a coherent,intelligent thought ever came out of him I think I would faint from shock. I'm not saying he should be banned or anything just because I think he is a moron, I just don't see any point in what he does. Anyways, I am pleasantly suprised to hear so many good things about Get Smart. I would have liked it to have been more like the TV show, as it is one of my childhood favorites, but if it's a good movie then I will check it out anyway.
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Yeah, there are all types out there. Gene Siskel gave "Field of dreams" a thumbs down. I didn't watch it for years because back then, I took his B.S. seriously. When I finally saw the film, I was blown away. Talk about all time classic! I like to consider myself of reasonable taste, I cannot stand a movie that doesn't even try, or resorts to nothing but scatalogical humor (epic movie) or something that looks unquestionably bad (speed racer). I will admit though, just because *I* do not like a movie does not make it suck. Some people on this site do however love or hate everything. I avoid absolutes like that.
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This website never "USED to be a website that called them out on it" when Hollywood pumped out shit. The site is named after a line of dialog from BROKEN FUCKING ARROW! I remember when the original Mummy came out and dimwits on here were calling it better than Last Crusade. Oh and I don't suppose you remember the high praise heaped upon the American Godzilla? AICN has always been and always will be nerdy fan-boy hackery with a slice of corporate shill on the side. That said, I still come here every day for some reason.
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Speed Racer was not actually unquestionably bad. In fact, it was pretty fucking awesome. Did you actually see it? Cause, I'll admit that the trailers looked like absolute shit but the movie itself blew me away. I have never seen anything like it. I can understand why some people didn't like it but I would respectfully disagree.
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No, I admit I have not seen it. I was never a fan of the choppy anime series. The SR effects/environment look very cool but I was (and am) worried that if I spend my $6.50 on this thing that it would be something that didn't try to do anything except generate CGI effects. this weekend is slow for me, I might go see it. I don't want to give the impression I like or dislike anything that I have not actually seen. I am a big fan of Tron-like movies that put you into "their" universe.
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So the site was always like this? Jesus (I was actually assuming) I'm too young to have read it when the reviews for MUMMY or GODZILLA came out. I knew the line was from Broken Arrow, but i though it was a tongue and cheek thing to make fun of it! Fucking hell, this shit is worse than i thought! I'm sticking with FILMDRUNK.
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Do they share any scenes together? Its a Freebie And The Bean reunion!! I fondly remember that '70s over-the-top buddy cop movie, that come to think of it, was the template for buddy-cop-action-comedies to follow.How about a Freebie And The Bean sequel, with these two seasoned pros, stuck in their retiring years behind the desk, forced to hit the streets to solve a crime with ties to the seventies? It can't be any worse than some of the stuff Hollywood force feeds ud.
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Ina a movie called Havoc
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OK, he was an idiot, but not in the context of his world. Max was actually a supremely competent agent in a world of insane stupidity. Compare him to his opposite numbers in Kaos... Not so bumbling, eh. And Control DID have use of the Cone of Silence as its official POLICY-- Max just insisted on following the directive. Nothing to do with the movie, but it DOES affect the joke-- Max wasn't fired because he actually COULD do his job.
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I'm not saying that, mind you.
Part of the joke was that the subordinate "girl" sidekick was a far better agent (it was a diffrn't time you understand...) But compare him to most control operatives-- really to almost anyone in the show other than 99 and the Chief... He's clearly not outside the range. -
that the guts of what made the tv smart special have been cut out of the movie...gone is the biting satire of the cold war...and im sorry, hathaway doesnt hold a candle to barbara feldon....so when is the i dream of genie coming out? and what about gilligans island, although when that comes out everyone will scream that its a ripoff of lost...please, there is a bit more of my childhood to rape...when they put me in the home, i dont want any good memories
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Link>>>???
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of course, its the old 'another name for the theater showing the love guru' trick.
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It's too bad they couldn't have used Barbara Feldon as the photo of 99.
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Someday, maybe.. not in theaters I think.. lotsa good movies here these days..
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you bet he needs a hit. Evan was the most expensive comedy of all time and it bombed. Dan in real life didn't perform like the suits hoped or expected to do. Like Jolie, they both need a commercial success badly.
Just b/c he's on a tv show thats fine. But it's tv and not film. That's what he's going after. He wants to follow in Jim Carrey's footsteps and thus far he hasn't. -
I'd like to check that out. Thanks.
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If you are a fan of Tron I would totally say go see Speed Racer (It's still playing where you live?) While I'll admit that it may take an appreciation or affection for the cartoon to really get into it, there are just so many crazy new things in the movie that are worth checking out. The editing is unlike anything I've seen before in live action (sort of) cinema. Anyway, if you do wind up seeing it, hunt me down here in the talkbacks and let me know what you thought.
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I think Carell is like, 20 years older than Hathaway. But the first Max and 99 musta had at least ten years between them.
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Thanks for being a fan...no seriously
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Don Adams was only nine years older than Barbara Feldon.
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Steve Carell is 20 years older than Anne Hathaway.
So much for how far we've come. -
Have they cast that Capricorn One remake yet?
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you know when they were all on the car. I couldn't tell if there were stunt people or effects or what. I think I noticed it because of the silliness in Indy 4 with that Shia/Cate fight, bad CG nonsense. I liked this movie. It was more actiony and less funny than I was expecting. But it was still very good and I also wished for a sequel at the end.
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No matter how much Rock wants to be Dwayne Johnson will always be the Rock. There will never be a movie role for him that will make people say :"That is Dwayne FN Johnson" He can't escape his roots and he won't. He is missed in today's abysmal wrestling scene but as always I wish him the best in Hollywood.
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I grew up watching the series. No one could replace Don Adams. And Siegfried wasn't quite the same. I mainly went because my wife has been wanting to see it since the previews came out. Have to say, I really enjoyed it. A fun movie. No, it's not your daddy's Get Smart, but it is a good film IMO.
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very few real laughs and a general weirdness in it trying to find its cinematographic footing. it felt all over the place in its look and tone. AVOID
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am calling him the ROCK f@#k it
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interesting
I hate the actors in this.
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