16th July, 2008
DAVID ADAMS
Get Smart (PG)
In A Word: Sorry-about-that-Chief!
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SIXTIES THROWBACK: Maxwell Smart, Secret Agent 86 (Steve Carell) with the car model Max used in the original TV series.
"Sure, the latest Get Smart does provide some laughs - there’s a cone of silence scene and a scene involving an aircraft and a crossbow that rivals the original series, but overall it doesn’t really come close to replicating the wit of the original."
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First, a confession: I am an avid fan of the original Get Smart series. So, that said, you can understand that I approached the new Get Smart film with some trepidation - after all, it does come in the wake of some disastrous remakes like latest Pink Panther incarnation starring Steve Martin.
The trepidation was somewhat justified. Sure, the latest Get Smart does provide some laughs - there’s a cone of silence scene and a scene involving an aircraft and a crossbow that rivals the original series, but overall it doesn’t really come close to replicating the wit of the original.
To his credit, Steve Carell does a fair job of bringing Agent 86, Maxwell Smart, back to the screen and Anne Hathaway makes a reasonable effort at portraying his sidekick, 99, although her persona is a dramatic shift on that played by Barbara Feldon. Other cast choices aren’t so good - Alan Arkin isn’t terribly convincing as The Chief, David Koechner’s Larabee is just a mindless thug and Terrance Stamp was not a good choice for Max’s nemesis - Siegfried, the leader of KAOS.
But it’s ultimately an overly-complicated plot - in which Max oddly starts out as an analyst eager to become an agent like his hero Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson) - and not enough of the sarcasm and slapstick for which Get Smart was famous which lets this film down. Part of the problem is that in updating the concept of Get Smart for the new millennia, too much of what the original series was all about is left behind.
There are some cameos to watch for - Bill Murray appears as the ever inventively hidden Agent 13, the original Sigfried (Bernie Kopell) almost runs Max over and Patrick Warburton makes a funny entrance (and sets up a possible sequel) in the deadpan style for which he is renowned as the robot man Hymie.
Those who can come to this film without carrying the baggage of watching too many Get Smart re-runs will undoubtedly find it an amusing way to spend a couple of hours but for the fan - despite the few laughs - there’s always that question of what might have been.
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