Reviewed by Craig McPherson
Stars Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson, Terence Stamp, Dalip Singh, Ken Davitian
Written by Tom Astle & Matt Ember, based on the
characters created by Mel Brooks & Buck Henry
Certification US PG-13 | UK 12A | Australia PG
Runtime 110 minutes
Directed by Peter Segal
Seldom has a movie had so many good things going for it and failed so miserably, yet such is the case with Get Smart, the latest in a long line of television chestnuts finding a home on the big screen thanks to the utter dearth of imagination in Hollywood these days.
Its problem lies with not knowing what it wants to be — family comedy or action flick — with the result being a weak-kneed attempt at both (although to be fair, the action comes off better than the laughs). It’s too bad because it sports a smart, likeable cast with Steve Carell in the role of Maxwell Smart, and the easy on the eyes Anne Hathaway as his partner and love interest, Agent 99. They’re complimented by Alan Arkin who gets substantial screen time as CONTROL’s beleaguered Chief, Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson as the muscle-bound Agent 23, and Terence Stamp as KAOS’ evil mastermind Siegfried. Even the film’s small, almost filler roles and cameos are peppered with the likes of Masi Oka (Hiro from Heroes), James Caan, Bill Murray, and Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld’s Puddy, The Tick).
Get Smart’s problem isn’t with its actors, but rather the script they’re given to work with. Director Segal, along with writers Astle and Ember, seems bereft of any sort of creative vision, at times appearing content to mine big budget action, only to reign it in with gags and scenes that may have been funny on paper, but fall flat on screen. To their credit, Carell, Hathaway and Arkin all steer clear of trying to portray letter-perfect clones of the TV show’s characters. Instead, Carell’s Smart is a bookish dweeb who is smarter than he appears, while Hathaway’s 99 is a crack female agent trying to break the glass ceiling of a male-dominated espionage agency. Stamp’s Siegfried, however, is the film’s most glaring example of a talented actor gone to waste coupled with the most wildly divergent character from the Mel Brooks & Buck Henry original. Whereas in the show, Siegfried, as portrayed by Bernie Kopell, milked the character for every drop of its pseudo-Nazi comedic undertones, both Stamp and the script play it straight, as the film’s cardboard villain.
Given the promise of the cast, one can only hope that with a change of director and writers, there may be hope for the inevitable sequel. In the meantime, save your money and wait for this one to hit the DVD racks.