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Dancing_P [ 6.0 ]
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Expectations are lowered considerably for big-budget summer action-comedies; if it isn't complete shit, that's already a pretty good start. Get Smart is hardly complete shit but it embodies the concept of escapist summer action comedy so completely, it probably doesn't play nearly as well in any other context. It's also an action comedy with a strictly comedic cast and director, resulting in some pretty anemic setpieces.
Steve Carrell stars as Maxwell Smart, an ingenious but clumsy operative in a top-secret spy agency. When the big bad leader of a terrorist faction named KAOS (Terence Stamp) threatens the safety of the United States (and of Smart's fellow agents), Smart is paired with a foxy agent (Anne Hathaway) to take down Sigmund.
The gags are, to put it generously, pretty obvious; most of them involve Carrell hurting himself or messing up to some extent. The film has the huge advantage of Carrell; he sells most of the jokes with ease. The film is also smart in keeping much of the slapstick grounded. As per the original show, Smart is clumsy but not retarded; there's a reason why he's an agent in the first place. Yet the storyline is cheap and generic, with Stamp an especially boring villain considering the strong personalities of other cast members (which include Alan Arkin, The Rock and James Caan). The action scenes, as plentiful as they are, remain of the slam-bang plot-point variety and the film is very easily forgettable.
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suminjoo [ 5.0 ]
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I'm not a big fan of comedy movies. This one was so-so as well. Steve is funny but was a little over the top as usual. The scenes with Scorpion King (what's his name?)were the best ones in the movie.
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babyduck [ 8.5 ]
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Surprisingly funny. I actually wanted to sort of see this film during the summer, but the timing didn't quite work out to watch it and later add on reviews from various sources suggested it could wait, so we did.
So the Blu-Ray disc finally came and watched it for Christmas. The comedy was absolutely hilarious and this "almost" action film was delivered with a great combination of slap-stick and dry humor.
Great performance by Steve Carell, we'll see if they can carry on a sequel.
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DokBrowne [ 5.0 ]
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Not all that close to the spirit of Don Adams, although Steve Carell is about as accurate a modern replacement as there exists, so shrewd move there. The movie just plays it too straight - it's not enough of a satire or a spoof or a parade of wackiness or even deadpan to uphold the principles of its namesake. It bases the humor on how dumb Maxwell Smart is, but doesn't capture that droll attitude Adams brought to the part. Instead it's like every other comedy film out there where the main characters are oblivious morons. It even sells out in a way by making Smart not only an underdog, but a competent agent and a contemplative person. Look if we wanted a character arc we'd see the other 900 movies Hollywood releases every Friday. The original "Get Smart" had very little use for contrived schmaltz and the drama of the human condition. Not that the movie takes itself too seriously but that it takes itself at ALL seriously is a mistake. Might as well call it "Studio Action Comedy #8458" - and by the way, there's more emphasis on large action-scene choreography than jokes. Make up your mind, movie. Relate yourself to "Get Smart" or come up with your own characters.
This was bred to be a summer movie profit-generating machine, not an earnestly tackled modernization of the '60s TV series' winning template of verbal/physical comedy. In a richer scenario, it would be great to praise a cast consisting of Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, and the Rock, and a movie celebrating one of history's finer sitcoms.
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| Weighted Rating | : 6.6 |
| No. Ratings | : 9 | |
| No. Reviews | : 5 | |
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