Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
“It will be fun, trust me.”
Steve Carell stars as a very confident Maxwell Smart (a.k.a. Agent 86), who works at CONTROL, a hidden spy agency based in Washington D.C. Max makes a great action hero with amazing powers of observation and unselfish motives – a nice counter-program to several headstrong action heroes who don’t have the mental and physical balance Max possesses.
Carell does a fine job handling the comedy, plus some surprising action stunts and physical jokes. Using his brain more than his brawn, with a bit of luck, gets Max further along in his ultimate goal of becoming a full-fledged field agent. Anne Hathaway co-stars as the no-nonsense Agent 99. “It’s not about (field test) grades, it’s whether you are dead or not,” she says to Max.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays a fellow agent and recent Oscar winner Alan Arkin plays CONTROL’s Chief. CONTROL’s rival, KAOS, is led by Terence Stamp in a one-note antagonist role as Siegfried, which doesn’t really live up to his decent introduction though he has a few good lines. Ken Davitian plays the second in command Shtarker while famous wrestler Dalip Singh (a.k.a. the Great Khali) provides some muscle.
The remaining supporting cast includes Max’s co-workers played by David Koechner and Terry Crews. James Caan plays the President of the U.S.A. while Bill Murray makes the most of his extremely limited screen time in an homage role as Agent 13. Two NBC television stars also provide some comic relief as gadget wizards. Masi Oka and Nate Torrence play Bruce and Lloyd with smarts and nice comic timing.
You can probably predict plot parts if you pay close attention, but most audiences will not predict the match-ups and scenarios as they enjoy this very funny and intelligent experience. Don’t expect any twists in the same realm as the Mission Impossible film series though a troubling lack of evidence provides some potential for a jolting spin where the bad guys could have an ingenious plan, but filmmakers miss this opportunity. The film still entertains on a high level because of several strong elements like the constant humor, amazing Russian locations, and Carell’s great performance.
After beginning with that familiar theme song, audiences will enjoy several showcase sequences including an impromptu dance contest, incredible stunts, and a hilarious camera gag with Max, Bruce, and Lloyd. It would’ve been nice to see how a special building was infiltrated, but audiences can still enjoy the quick paced plot from the screenwriting team of Tom Astle and Matt Ember. This team also wrote and executive produced the upcoming spin-off Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control coming to home video on July 1.
The high quality characters and content even convey a few admirable themes like using vital personal information to help, not hurt. The movie is based on the television series starring Don Adams and characters created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry who also served as consultants on this film. Directed by comedic veteran Peter Segal, Get Smart also hints at possible future installments based on an ending appearance of Hymie, played by Patrick Warburton. Highly recommended and rated PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence, and language.
