Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart ! - Page 2

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

I read the script a few weeks ago (I write for Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere), and it has promise, but I hope the input from Brooks & Henry has made some changes, bc it could use some work. I trust the creative talent, but the fact they're releasing a DVD "sorta-quel" 10 days later featuring Masi Oka and Nate Torrence, "Get Smart: Harold & Lloyd Out of CONTROL!" worries me greatly...

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

"Harold & Lloyd"? That deserves some respect.

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

I saw a new trailer for the Get Smart film today and it reminds me of The Nude Bomb.

The basic problem with what I saw in the trailer and all other attempts at doing Get Smart (Except the one TV movie reunion with Adams and Feldon) is that it doesn't work in modern times. They appear to be recycling lines and sight gags from TOS and also add nasty sight gags and or violence that's mean spirited.

I'm sure what I am saying isn't new criticism. The old innocent Max isn't here and Carrell and the script misses the point. Max may bungle and mess-up, but it always ends up with a positive outcome, not making Max look inept and stupid. Max may have been that way, but he was always competent and got the job done.

I was surprised to see the Sunbeam Tiger flying through a door way and down some stairs. Another sight gag that just feels wrong in a Get Smart project. They are trying to ramp up the action and effects, again, it's not what made Get Smart so good and The Nude Bomb so bad.

If Anne Hathaway's portrayal of 99 is what I heard, her part is all wrong too. She was always smart and competent, yet she was always supporting Max and helping him, not beating him up. I like her casting, but I don't like the new characterization.

Maybe I'm being closed minded, but I just don't like what I am seeing here. I never saw Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English. I did see the trailer and it felt like a Get Smart re-make, with the same problems this film has.

What do others think?

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

If you read the movie synopsis at The Get Smart Page, you'll probably see your fears validated. The saving grace of this movie could be the cast, which seems to have been well chosen. The question is whether they can overcome a weak script.

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

Sam, I had been avoiding reading too much about this movie, though I had been looking into the Get Smart page from time to time. Yes, I had read Carl's remarks and thoughts about the script he had seen. It feels like this movie doesn't live up nor respects, in some ways, the original series.

Looking at the trailer, the whole thing feels wrong. Partly having new actors inhabit the roles, the weak script and those intangibles that made Get Smart so special. I doubt I'll see it.

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

The new trailer mentioned above can be watched here Apple - Trailers - Get Smart

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

I guess is says something when the funniest line is a throwaway line from the mom at the end.

I wish the studios had the balls to set this back in the 1960s, I think that would be more interesting.

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

This preview makes a nice little 3:00 minute diversion. If it had been posted on YouTube as a little tribute, it would be fine, but I suspect the movie will be painful.

What is it with using out-of-place heavy metal in every movie?

Looks like every other TV show will be remade into a feature. What shows are left?

Rhoda: The Movie
The Andy Griffith Show Movie
McNeil-Lehrer: The Movie

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

I absolutely love Carell, but this trailer does not look promising at all. I still have some hope that he can save the movie, but right now I'm not too excited about it.

Re: Steve Carell is...Maxwell Smart !

I don't really like the sound of the characters, but ultimately it remains to be seen and I found both trailers very funny and mostly in the spirit of the show. It is essentially an origin story so I've no problem allowing them to grow into the characters.


I think Nicholas Cage would make a good Barney Fife.