When a feature film is inspired by a past television series, I always get a little nervous about it. These types of films have been very sketchy at best. Sometimes the film is very loyal to the original series such 1991's The Addams Family and 1993's The Fugitive. Other times many liberties are taken with the original show's formula in an effort to bring the story into current times. Some examples being 2000's Charlie's Angels and 2005's Bewitched. Movie studios have had varying degrees of success with both of these models, but I believe the newest incarnation of Get Smart manages to find the middle ground.
The television series Get Smart ran from 1965-1970 written by comedy legend Mel Brooks and starring Don Adams in the role of Maxwell Smart, a blundering high-tech agent who works for a covert US organization in a fight against evil around the world.
Trying to recapture Adams' charm and unique style of line delivery for this film would have been a mistake. Any actor attempting that would have come off as a cheap imitation. What this film needed was an individual that could resemble Adams while lending his own uniqueness to the character, however not to the point where it would interfere with the core personality. Enter Steve Carell.
Carell did a phenomenal job representing Adams' original version while interjecting his unique brand of dry humor that he's so well known for. Not only does Carell somewhat physically resemble Adams but his demeanor is a natural match. The audience can see Carell isn't copying the original Adams' version but is still remaining true to its essence. Actually the only time Carell seemed somewhat awkward in the role of Maxwell Smart is when he delivered the character's famous catch phrases. This however is not a harsh criticism because those phrases are absolutely essential to the character and the movie in general.
In the role of Max's partner, Anne Hathaway was very solid as the competent and beautiful Agent 99. Hathaway injected the role with a little more toughness than originally portrayed by Barbara Feldon in the television series. This was a pollitcally correct update to show that the female action hero has significantly evolved since the 1960's.
The rest of the very talented supporting cast really rounded out the film nicely. Dwayne Johnson (The Rundown, Be Cool) was a natural in the role of Agent 23, the super-hero like agent who is the star of CONTROL, the secret US agency that employs Max. David Koechner (Waiting) filled the classic T.V. series role of Larabee, the even more inept field agent than Max, and teamed up with his new sidekick Agent 91 played by Terry Crews (The Longest Yard). Also, classically trained actor Terence Stamp, who is most famous for embedding the persona of the Zod character from Superman II into pop-culture, takes on the role of Siegfried, Max's recurring nemesis from the television series. However, once again the best of the rest title is awarded to professional scene-stealer Alan Arkin. Arkin plays The Chief, head of CONTROL. Just like the last film Carell and Arkin were cast in together, Little Miss Sunshine, when Arkin is in the scene he cannot be topped.
Unfortunately, like a Ford Escort in the wintertime, this film needs a little warming up before it goes anywhere. The jokes start out luke warm and there's about 2 or 3 times where you think the film may be over but it just keeps going. Taking that into account, the story and writing actually get stronger as the film goes on. The comedy revs into high gear and the characters become more well rounded. All of the high-tech gadgets that made the original T.V. series so popular are upgraded to millennium status, but the writers cleverly managed to keep some of the most classic, but now obsolete, spy tools in the film.
Get Smart is a very entertaining film that still shines the Mel Brooks polish from the original show. It does drag some in the beginning, but leaves you satisfied with very funny writing, strong and comedic action sequences, and a stellar cast anchored by Steve Carell who could easily engrave his name as this generation's Maxwell Smart with a couple of sequels.
Story: 6.5
Acting: 8.0
Writing: 7.5
Captivation: 6.5
Replay Value: 7.0
Total Score: 7.1
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