Get Smart (C or 2/4 stars)
Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), Agent 86 for U.S. spy agency CONTROL, takes on KAOS with the help of Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), in 'Get Smart', directed by Peter Segal. When the headquarters of CONTROL is attacked & the identities of its agents are compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his overly-eager, bumbling analyst, Maxwell. This is a dream come true as he's always imagined working alongside the likes of super agent 23 (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson). I was disappointed by 'Get Smart'. I really like Steve Carell. I like Anne Hathaway. Alan Arkin compliments Carell's sarcastic deadpan. I enjoy Arkin. But I'd say the movie is 15 min. too long. The plot is both ludicrous & poorly executed. And it only gets worse as it goes.
The opening minutes of 'Get Smart' are great: The credits are of the original TV series. The music is engaging. Maxwell walks through a series of deadlocked doors, eventually dropping into headquarters by way of the phone booth, etc. But the film can't sustain this nostalgic energy for long. After KAOS operative Sigfried (Terrence Stamp) attacks CONTROL, Max steps in as a new field operative. Because Agent 23 is so well-known (recognizable), he can't be a part of the new mission. Luckily for Maxwell, he gets the job, AND is partnered with the 'seemingly' younger, attractive female agent 99 to get their job done. Over the course of the next hour & a half, a series of cliche-ridden plot points (regarding KAOS getting their hands on nuclear weapons) take over til its inevitable ending.
I have to give props to the casting director. Steve Carell was an inspired choice as Maxwell Smart. I love his brand of self-deprecating humor. And it caused me to smirk/chuckle often. Unfortunately, the script lets him down. He knows how to deliver a line, but there's too much dead air either before or after the delivery. That goes for his other cast mates, too. A number of Smart's gadgets & gizmos are present in this film (shoe phone). Bill Murray makes a brief, but funny cameo as ... a tree. Anne Hathaway has decent comedic timing, and looks quite good when all dolled up. The chemistry btwn. she & Carell is fine, but hardly romantic.
There are also a few action sequences here (most are only ok). But a majority of the screenplay is frenetic, preposterous, & forgettable. It's also unbalanced; as the film tries to accomplish a dual comedy/spy action romp (but can't thrive in either). I understand that the movie tries to keep in tone with the silly TV series (of which I've seen several episodes), but everything fell flat for me. 'Get Smart' may be decent enough (for some) and harmless. But I don't want harmless. I don't want generic. I want Good. And I didn't get much of that, here.
The opening minutes of 'Get Smart' are great: The credits are of the original TV series. The music is engaging. Maxwell walks through a series of deadlocked doors, eventually dropping into headquarters by way of the phone booth, etc. But the film can't sustain this nostalgic energy for long. After KAOS operative Sigfried (Terrence Stamp) attacks CONTROL, Max steps in as a new field operative. Because Agent 23 is so well-known (recognizable), he can't be a part of the new mission. Luckily for Maxwell, he gets the job, AND is partnered with the 'seemingly' younger, attractive female agent 99 to get their job done. Over the course of the next hour & a half, a series of cliche-ridden plot points (regarding KAOS getting their hands on nuclear weapons) take over til its inevitable ending.
I have to give props to the casting director. Steve Carell was an inspired choice as Maxwell Smart. I love his brand of self-deprecating humor. And it caused me to smirk/chuckle often. Unfortunately, the script lets him down. He knows how to deliver a line, but there's too much dead air either before or after the delivery. That goes for his other cast mates, too. A number of Smart's gadgets & gizmos are present in this film (shoe phone). Bill Murray makes a brief, but funny cameo as ... a tree. Anne Hathaway has decent comedic timing, and looks quite good when all dolled up. The chemistry btwn. she & Carell is fine, but hardly romantic.
There are also a few action sequences here (most are only ok). But a majority of the screenplay is frenetic, preposterous, & forgettable. It's also unbalanced; as the film tries to accomplish a dual comedy/spy action romp (but can't thrive in either). I understand that the movie tries to keep in tone with the silly TV series (of which I've seen several episodes), but everything fell flat for me. 'Get Smart' may be decent enough (for some) and harmless. But I don't want harmless. I don't want generic. I want Good. And I didn't get much of that, here.