Release Date:
06/20/2008
Directed by: Peter Segal
The Skinny: Get Smart, based on the '60s TV comedy created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, stars Steve Carell as bumbling wannabe secret agent Maxwell Smart. A low-level analyst for a government agency known as CONTROL, Smart gets recruited into the big time when members of terrorist organization KAOS reveal plans to assassinate the president.
The Good: The cast. Even though Carell's "take" on Maxwell Smart is "what if Maxwell Smart were Steve Carell," he still does a lot with very little. Alan Arkin is as solid a comedy blue chip as there is, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to defy logic, being adept at action and comedy. Oh, and three words: President James Caan.
The Bad: There isn't a single joke in Get Smart that hasn't either been done in some form or another a million times (Austin Powers rendered the "spy spoof" useless) or isn't so obvious that you've written it in your head before it happens. Plus, the only person who seemed to "get" the in-jokes and cameos was the 60-year-old woman seated at the end of our row.
Spin-Offs: Apparently, there's a spin-off straight-to-DVD movie starring characters Bruce and Lloyd, two bumbling tech geeks who help Maxwell Smart. May we suggest they do one featuring David Koechner's and Terry Crews' douche bag agents instead? It'd be much funnier.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's a rental.
See Steve Carell's video where he discusses his action hero workout and iPod shoes.
The Skinny: Get Smart, based on the '60s TV comedy created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, stars Steve Carell as bumbling wannabe secret agent Maxwell Smart. A low-level analyst for a government agency known as CONTROL, Smart gets recruited into the big time when members of terrorist organization KAOS reveal plans to assassinate the president.
The Good: The cast. Even though Carell's "take" on Maxwell Smart is "what if Maxwell Smart were Steve Carell," he still does a lot with very little. Alan Arkin is as solid a comedy blue chip as there is, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to defy logic, being adept at action and comedy. Oh, and three words: President James Caan.
The Bad: There isn't a single joke in Get Smart that hasn't either been done in some form or another a million times (Austin Powers rendered the "spy spoof" useless) or isn't so obvious that you've written it in your head before it happens. Plus, the only person who seemed to "get" the in-jokes and cameos was the 60-year-old woman seated at the end of our row.
Spin-Offs: Apparently, there's a spin-off straight-to-DVD movie starring characters Bruce and Lloyd, two bumbling tech geeks who help Maxwell Smart. May we suggest they do one featuring David Koechner's and Terry Crews' douche bag agents instead? It'd be much funnier.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? It's a rental.
See Steve Carell's video where he discusses his action hero workout and iPod shoes.