"GET SMART" (2008) Review
"GET SMART" (2008) Review
Just recently, I saw "GET SMART" for the fifth time, a comic action movie based upon the 1965-1971 television comedy that starred Don Adams. Only this version starred Steve Carell as CONTROL Agent 86 - Maxwell Smart.
I can only think of five or six movies based upon old television series that I have ever really enjoyed. And if I must be honest, "GET SMART" is one of them. Many people have stated before its release eight years ago that they found the idea of someone other than Adams portraying the Clouseau-like spy, Maxwell Smart (Agent 86 of CONTROL). This attitude is understandable, considering it was Adams' most famous role and he really made it his own.
I never thought I would say this, but Steve Carell can be the second actor who has the right to boast the Smart character as his own. He truly was superb. And what made his performance so astounding is that instead of attempting a replica of Adams' performances, he portrayed the Smart character in his own style. What also made this movie different from the TV series is that Smart starts out as an intelligence analyst for CONTROL, who desires to become a field agent. He finally gets his chance when CONTROL Headquarters is attacked by their arch-enemy, the evil KAOS terrorist organization led by Siegfried (Terence Stamp). Almost all of CONTROL's Agents are either exposed or killed. Max becomes Agent 86 and is partnered with one of CONTROL's top operatives, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), who underwent recent plastic surgery to protect her identity. Together, the pair investigate KAOS's recent acquisition of nuclear weapons and the identity of the mole who had betrayed CONTROL.
Anne Hathaway portrayed Agent 99 and her take on the character is slightly different than Barbara Feldon's from the television series. Hathaway's Agent 99 is a cool and very competent agent like her television counterpart. However, her 99 is more experienced than Max. She is also slightly sardonic and a little more aggressive. What really surprised me was how Hathaway and Carell managed to create a sizzling screen chemistry between them. I mean they really sizzled. Alan Arkin (who co-starred with Carell in "LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE") really shined as the Chief of CONTROL. Like his television counterpart, he found the antics of Max and certain other CONTROL operatives rather exasperating. But what really seemed to annoy him is the idea that he might be too old for any action in the field.
The rest of the cast included Dwayne Johnson as CONTROL'S very top operative, Agent 23. He portrayed the agent with a mixture of charm, smoothness and arrogance that justified Max's envious worship of him. Both Terry Crewes and David Koechner made a great comedic pair as CONTROL agents 91 and Larabee. So did Masi Oka ("HEROES" and "HAWAII FIVE-0") and Nate Torrence as CONTROL's two top techies - Bruce and Lloyd. My only complaint centered around Terrence Stamp, as KAOS's head honcho, Siegfried. With that impervious expression fixed upon his face, Stamp seemed to try too hard in being funny. Well . . . at times. In other scenes, his sardonic style did strike me as funny. And I must admit that he managed to have one very hilarious scene involving Max's attempt to penetrate a KAOS lair in Russia.
Thanks to screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, along with director Peter Segal ("MY FELLOW AMERICANS") and Steve Carell, this version of "GET SMART" turned out to be just as funny as the television series from the 1960s. And believe it or, "GET SMART" also turned out to be a first-class action movie centered around betrayal in the intelligence community and the threat of a nuclear bomb. "GET SMART" is no comedic masterpiece, but I found it a lot of fun to watch.