Movie Review: Get Smart Gets Rebooted for the Big Screen

In the interest of full disclosure, the version of the film I saw was not finished, although it appeared very close. Some of the digital effects related to the stunt scenes needed to be completed. Also, there was a jump in one plot line that had me wondering if a sequence was missing or if, more likely, it was just poorly written and no one on the crew seemed to notice or care, as is the case with many Hollywood blockbusters.

Get Smart was a classic '60s television sitcom that starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 of the U.S spy agency CONTROL. The character was a combination of James Bond and Inspector Clouseau, but he always saved the day in spite of his bumbling and incompetence. As a fan, I was skeptical that such an iconic series could be remade today because the odds of a new group of people capturing the same magic was unlikely, especially when the first big screen adaptation, the unintentionally prophetic The Nude Bomb, had Adams and writer Arne Sultan involved, yet it still failed.

Get Smart (2008) finds Steve Carrell stepping into the shoephone of Maxwell Smart. It's a reboot with a number of changes that may disappoint Smart fans, but should work for people new to the franchise. Adams's Smart was somehow one of the best agents at CONTROL, and what he lacked in intelligence he more than made up for with overconfidence. While still clumsy, Carrell's Smart is smart. He is a very good analyst that wants to be a spy like the rugged Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson).

KAOS, a competing spy agency of unknown origins, strikes CONTROL headquarters and incapacities nearly everyone. The Chief (Alan Arkin) is forced to promote Max and send him out with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), whose character has also gone through changes. She is a much more forceful and physical presence rather than the glorified Girl Friday from the TV series. She doesn't think much of Max as a spy, with good reason, and constantly puts him down, so when we learn of their off-screen night of passion, it's unbelievable. We barely saw the ice thaw, which is why I am open to the idea that scenes were missing from the version I saw. KAOS plans to set off a nuclear bomb in the United States, and they frame Smart as a double agent. This idea seems totally implausible, and the real culprit is rather obvious. Of course, Smart eventually escapes and saves the day.

The movie had a good number of laughs, and will surely work better in a crowded audience rather than home alone. There are a number of inside jokes and cameos for Smart fans. However, it shouldn't be classified solely as a comedy because the action sequences are intense and executed seriously. Some could easily fit into a Mission Impossible movie, although the train sequence at the end stretches the limits of believability.

Other than the two story flaws previously mentioned, the movie's other weaknesses are two characters. KAOS agent Siegfried was hysterical in the series, but here he generates no laughs. Terence Stamp barely delivers a b-movie bad guy performance, and Siegfried comes off rather dull and pointless. Even worse is James Caan as President Bush in a very tired characterization. Yes, Bush isn't that bright. Sure, he's such an idiot that even the people who voted for him twice will have trouble arguing against that, but that alone just isn't funny. They really should cut out as many of his scenes as possible.

While not as funny as the television series, Get Smart (2008) is an enjoyable two hours with plenty of action and laughs for those who dissociate the two. Warner Brothers is hoping to turn the property into a franchise, but I don't see the movie having a strong "repeat viewing" factor that is needed. However, the studio isn't waiting. There's already a direct-to DVD movie: Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control, featuring two minor characters coming out this summer.