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
