Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 6 nominations total
Featured reviews
Good, you're still here, so we'll assume that you're willing to give this flick a fair shake. "Get Smart" (2008) is a reboot of the iconic tv series, and by "reboot" I mean that it doesn't necessarily follow the original storyline except that the characters share the same names. In this version, Maxwell Smart is a lowly analyst who gets his big shot at being an agent. Other than being a general nerd, his schtick is that, being an obsessive intelligence analyst, he knows the enemy inside out. So even though he may not be a dashing superhero, his intelligence is his strength. When he's not being a total clueless dolt, that is. I thought this was a great new angle.
His counterbalance is Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), an experienced field operative who has to put up with Max's quirky arrogance. She may possibly have some anger issues. Again, a really fun character to watch.
The plot? Not important. Like the original tv show, the plot is rather superficial with the real entertainment being carried by the gags. There were some nice nods to the original show, such as the ridiculous "cone of silence", the absurd gadgets crammed into common household objects, and of course some of the original trademark catchphrases ("Missed it by that much"). A few of the zingers were really funny and got some full belly laugh out of me. But they were sparsely placed, and that's my only criticism. Perhaps in an attempt to keep the plot moving, there were not enough bizarre wisecracks as I would have liked. One of my favorites was when Agent 99 somberly tells Max that if he gets caught, there's a pill in his belt buckle that causes death in 9 seconds. To which Max replies: "But how will I get them to take it?" This is the kind of humor that made the original so fun and makes this version a worthy homage.
The cameos are awesome with fleeting appearances by Kevin Nealon (from SNL), Patrick Warburton (Elaine's weird boyfriend "Putty" on Seinfeld), James Caan as "the president" (who can't pronounce "nuclear" - I wonder who that is), and none other than Bill Murray as Agent 13.
Dwayne Johnson practically steals the show as Agent 23, a caricature of every action hero he's ever played.
A final note worth noting: the technical consultant mentioned in the credits is THE Mel Brooks. It didn't surprise me because at times this has a somewhat Brooksian flair, especially in the hilarious ballroom dance number, oddly reminiscent of "the czardas" dance in Dracula: Dead & Loving It. Bottom line, if you are ready for a good time you'll have a good time.
First, this is no cheap knockoff. The production team captured Buck Henry's creation very credibly both in tone and substance. It reminded me very much of the late '80s homage to "Dragnet," which was executed with love and great attention to detail (right down to the product placement of Camel cigarettes and a photo of Jack Webb on the Dan Akroyd's desk). It's no small feat updating something as much a part of its era into a modern sensibility. There were even echoes of the early James Bond films (especially in The Rock's ladykiller character flirting with CONTROL's "Miss Moneypenny" and in some of the musical cues). On the other hand, the production values were all first-rate and contemporary, including a CGI effect of an aerial fly-around and push-in to a 747 that was reminiscent of the key shot in the pilot of Star Trek.
Steve Carrell makes a very reasonable Agent 86; where Don Adams played the character as a bumbling naif, Carrell makes him into a goodhearted wannabe who, despite having the kind of personality that renders him invisible in society, still has intelligence and an earnestness that can make him into hero material when he works at it. He reminded me of Jim Varney's portrayal of Jed Clampett: pure of heart and belief in his fellow man, yet with a bit of chops in dealing with the dark side of society. He fumbles around a lot getting his sea legs after years of being an ineffectual fatso (viz. impetuously slamming a fire extinguisher into the noggin of his boss at one point) but in a pinch, he's quickwitted and moves with decision. (He also quite reasonably feels more secure in briefs than boxer shorts; I don't know what Adam's take on this issue was).
On the other hand, Anne Hathaway nails Agent 99 with a performance absolutely capturing Barbara Feldon's creation, right down to the tone of voice, the raised eyebrows, and at least three different dead-on intonations of "Oh, Max!" Nevertheless, Hathaway moves the character beyond the pre-feminist liberation era and invests 99 with a believable 21st century sexuality and sense of empowerment. She's clearly in charge during the first half of the movie, only slowly yielding to an appreciation of Carrell's growing sense of command (and her own feelings toward him) as we move into Act 3.
Alan Arkin brings an odd turn to the Chief, playing him with a much-less-exasperated fatalism than did Edward Platt. In an interview, Arkin says he saw the character as a very good principal of a very bad middleschool. He comes across as a somewhat old codger closing in on retirement who's comfortably in charge and doesn't try to micromanage, and he has an important role in the climax piloting a Cessna over Disney Hall downtown, but I missed one of the catchlines they didn't include in this revision: namely, the Chief getting one of his headaches. (The other catchline they left out was 86's frequent "That's the second biggest (fill in the blank) I've ever seen.")
Everything else was there, though: We see the Cone of Silence (technologically updated), a very clever CGI revision of the entrance passage to CONTROL HQ, cameos by both Hymie the Robot and Fang, and there's even a passing utilization in this cellphone-obsessed society to the shoe-phone (appropriated from the Smithsonian institution display of the old "defunct" CONTROL). On the other hand, the agency is now under the Homeland Security Department and answers to the Vice President (when they can find him) and uses lots of high-tech, satellite surveillance and GPS gear. Chaos is in cahoots with terrorist organizations around the world and we know they're bad because they drive around in SUVs (the most satisfying and "green" event is seeing one of Satan's Sedans being demolished by a freight train).
Oh, and BTW, it's also a love story.
I was hoping "Get Smart" to be a comedy with intelligent humour, but I was so disappointed. The plot is hopelessly contrived and full of clichés. The film is full of silly jokes that are irritating instead of funny. Those so called funny scenes are repetitive and tiring. The tooth microphone joke is not funny, but they did it three or four times. The get hit by a car scene is annoying as it tries to be funny by stating the obvious. Hence, the scene become not funny.
"Get Smart" is boring, with irritating and silly humour that fails to be funny. I am thoroughly disappointed by it.
One thing I did think was really good about this film was some of the casting choices; Carrell is particularly good here and is very convincing in his respective role as the bumbling & inept rookie agent. He brings a sort of naïve charm to many of his performances and I can't think of a role I've seen him in where I didn't enjoy his performance. Likewise, I think that Hathaway is a perfect compliment to Carrell and their chemistry in this was great - Hathaway pulls off the sexy, sassy & ultra confident field agent with ease. Alan Arkin is a great actor and is always watchable. Likewise, I thought Terrence Stamp was a very effective villain and was quite menacing. Even Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (who is not the best of actors) managed to also be quite good here.
I wasn't convinced by all of the characters however; I found Koechner & Crews characters to be more annoying than funny. The same could be said of the two nerds who were also annoying rather than funny (although not as much as Koechner & Crews). Bill Murray also has a cameo in this which seemed a bit pointless to me.
The one problem with this film was its rather muddled plot- I found it to be very unfocused and it seemed to jump around from place to place and the narrative seemed to jump back and forward which made the story hard to follow at times. Although this was a problem for me, thankfully it wasn't a huge problem as I still found that I enjoyed the film as a whole even if the plot was a little scattershot at times. The main reasons that this film works is due to the excellent chemistry between Hathaway and Carrell and their great interplay makes it possible to ignore some of the issues with the plotting.
Get Smart is funny, but it's not a film that's consistently funny but rather a film that is occasionally funny - although I must admit that some of the jokes were really funny so perhaps it's just a case of quality over quantity. Whilst I haven't seen the original TV Series the closest thing that this film reminds me of is Johnny English - therefore if you enjoyed Johnny English then you should enjoy this too. Nothing spectacular, but it's definitely worth a look.
There are some good laughs in "Get Smart", but what pleasantly surprised me is how well-done the action is. From an exhilarating freefall sequence that was probably designed as a homage to the opening of "Moonraker" to Carell's and Hathaway's quick, efficient fight scenes (choreoghraphed by a veteran at this sort of thing, James Lew), and from the explosions at the "bakery" factory to the incredibly kinetic final chase sequence involving various means of transportation, the action in this movie probably surpasses the recent James Bond pictures, helped by the fact that a lot of it seems to have been done by the actors themselves, willing to take some risks. So people who are more into action than into comedy should still get some satisfaction out of this.
Nothing brilliant, but a dependable crowd-pleaser nonetheless. I'd give it *** out of 4 stars.
Did you know
- TriviaThe five-minute skydiving scene, where Maxwell Smart falls from the airplane, and is saved by Agent 99, was actually shot in real life. Led by Norman Kent, a world famous skydiving photographer, a team of professional skydivers shot the entire sequence over a total of seventy jumps during a four-week period, always jumping during sunset and sunrise, to keep continuity in the scene.
- GoofsIn the combat training range, the first scene shows a less-lethal ammunition round being fired, and the round hits an agent. The slow-motion scene shows the entire round being propelled through the air, including the casing. In reality, only the "slug" would be propelled, and the bullet casing would be ejected from the weapon.
- Quotes
Maxwell Smart: I think it's only fair to warn you, this facility is surrounded by a highly trained team of 130 Black Op Snipers.
Siegfried: I don't believe you.
Maxwell Smart: Would you believe two dozen Delta Force Commandos?
Siegfried: No.
Maxwell Smart: How about Chuck Norris with a BB gun?
- Crazy creditsThe Warner Bros logo is a lock on CONTROL vault doors, which opens up and let the doors swing open.
- SoundtracksTake a Chance on Me
Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (as Bjoern Ulvaeus)
Performed by ABBA
Courtesy of Universal Music AB (SE)
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- El superagente 86
- Filming locations
- McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada(car breakout scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $80,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $130,319,208
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $38,683,480
- Jun 22, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $230,685,453
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1