*** Official GET SMART Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Stephen Orr]

Had the absolute delight of seeing the new Steve Carell/Anne Hathaway movie last night at a special preview at a local military base. I watched Get Smart as a kid during the 60s, and am a real fan of the original Adams/Feldon show. That said, I tell you I have not laughed so much at a movie in a long time. I can't remember a movie in recent years that used old fashion slapstick to the extent that Get Smart does. The verbal and sight gags were constant and good. The dance scene featured in the trailers had our audience applauding at the end, and there were just so many sequences that just had everyone rolling - Max trying to use a special "gadget" knife while in an airplane bathroom, navigating a laser filled room with a rat in his pants (funnier than you might think), and the final action scene involving a fight in a flaming SUV, railroad tracks, a light airplane, and an on-coming train. And watch for the riff on the Moonraker opening - a skydiving fight with a Jaws-like bad guy. Trust me, the best stuff is NOT in the trailer.

The nods to the old show are plentiful - the hallways of opening and closing doors, the phone booth, the Sunbeam and shoe phone, the unfortunate Agent 13 (cameo by Bill Murray), and the appearance of not only the old Seigfried, but a certain "hardened" agent who will be in the direct to video "Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control". Bruce and Lloyd are the Q-team for Control, and are very funny in their few scenes.

Steve Carell did a great job as Max - he has the whole deadpan humor thing down, and Max as a character is suprisingly competent, just a little accident prone. Anne Hathaway is wonderful as the competitive 99, who learns just just how effective Max can be in the field. Alan Arkin was terrific as the Chief, a man itching to get back into action. Dwayne Johnson, who does funny very well, as Agent 23, the guy everyone wants to be like. The only weak part for me was Terrance Stamps' Siegfried. He played it too low key, and frankly, I didn't find him all that threatening or funny. Siegfried should have been a very over the top bad guy.

But all in all, this was a sometime hysterically funny take on an old favorite. Only a couple of mildly "crude" scenes and a little language earn this film its PG-13 rating, so it's fairly safe family entertainment. Can't wait to see it again.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Get Smart". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.



Crawdaddy

 

[Greg_M]

I saw the film tonight and must say - it is one of the better films I've seen in a long time. I laughed so much - the film is much "Smarter" than the tv show and Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway were prefect - if you closed your eyes there were times when you would think you were listening to Don Adams and Barbara Feldon. Very funny - I didn't see any trailers or tv commercials etc so the jokes were fresh to me, but one of my friends said they gave away to much in the ads.

Hope the film does well and WB makes a sequel - Go see it!! I plan to see it again soon

 

[Shad R]

I agree with the above! This movie just worked so well. They cast the part perfectly. There were just so many funny moments, and the ending is great. Slapstick humor is so hard to pull off without looking stupid and being repetitive in nature, but they pulled it off here. This movie has just the right mix of physical slapstick, humor derived from dialogue, minunderstandings ( like the gum...you'll know when you see it), and cameos. This movie made me laugh more than Sara Marshall, which I thought would not be topped this year. I was wrong. Go see this movie, you will laugh, I promise.
PS
It brings up an interesting question. How CAN they improve belt technology? It's pretty much perfect as it is.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

I went in with fairly low expectations and I'm sad to say even they weren't met. The cast was excellent, but still wasted. There were laughs, but the film falls way below its potential.

Shitty Direction
Shitty Script
Shitty Design
Shitty Editing
Shitty Cinematography (really it was more bland than shitty)
Shitty Music

I'd like a sequel with the same cast that's nothing like this one.

 

[Steve...O]

I tried really hard to like this movie, especially after seeing a 4 1/2 star review in the morning paper.

Hated it. Almost every minute.

I fully admit to being strongly biased towards the Adams original, which is one of my favorite sitcoms ever. Steve Carrell is very talented but he had the unfortunate task of trying to replicate what Don Adams perfected. I doubt any actor could have pulled this off.

86 & 99 had none of the chemistry that Adams/Feldon did and the script did nothing for me. The references to the original almost seemed forced and the one gag that led to my single laugh (Max tossing a phone at the villain but being foiled because the cord was too short) I believe was lifted from the series.

Other complaint was that the film couldn't decide if it was a slapstick comedy or an action flick. The two just didn't mix.

The Nude Bomb was better than this and that's saying something. Heck, I'd almost say that the Fox network revival was better than this. Almost.

Just my $.02.

Steve

PS - full disclosure: my wife enjoyed this abomination. But she's not really that familiar with the original either. This is probably going to be one of those love it or hate it movies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

As someone that is very familiar with "Get Smart", the television series and spent many of my saturday nights watching it during the 1960s, I found this film adaptation very funny and laughed throughout the film. Furthemore, the reaction from my audiance had similar laughter to mine. I thought both, Carell and Hathaway nailed their parts and that Adams and Feldon should be proud of their efforts. Initially, when this film was announced I must admit I wasn't impressed, but after reading some reviews here and other places, I decided to give it a chance and thankfully so because it was an enjoyable film experience.



Crawdaddy

 

[Tino]

Worst film of the year so far. Painfully unfunny and excruciating to sit thru.

:star:

 

[Alphonse Brown]

Very interesting how some are finding it excruciatingly unfunny and others find it LOL hilarious. I would have to say I'm in the latter category. I actually do not remember laughing so often (intentionally) at a movie! I think the casting, script, action and comedy was spot-on. I was very entertained throughout and look forward to seeing it again soon!

 

[Sam Favate]

Saw the movie last night and was pleasantly surprised. It's not The Avengers or some other TV-to-screen disaster. I have to admit that although I was prepared not to, I really enjoyed it. And yes, I think it captured the spirit of the show pretty well, and I am a huge fan of the original show.

If the movie has a weak spot, it's the script, but there are enough good performances and witty delivery of lines that make up for it. Steve Carrel, while different from Don Adams, is very good in the role. Carrel said in interviews that he wouldn't imitate Don, and that was the right decision. He created a different Max that has the spirit and the charm of the original. He's really very good in the role.

Anne Hathaway couldn't be more different that Barbara Feldon as 99, but I think she did the character well. She was cool and stylish and maintained the character's integrity. She'll be great in a sequel. I liked the chief; sure Alan Arkin was quite different from the very cool Ed Platt in the role, but I think he suited the movie. His exasperation with Max and his other agents was dead-on, and I enjoyed his scenes with the VP and the president. (After more than 40 years, we finally see the chief interacting with his bosses!)

Agent 23 was an obvious plot device, but he was presented in a way that made you believe Max could look up to him, and you feel bad for Max when that all goes away.

The tributes to the show were far more numerous that I thought. The one-liners and catch-phrases were worked into the script in a clever manner, so they never felt forced, and their delivery was very smooth. The cameos (Hello, Leonard Stern!) were great and use of the car, clothes and shoe phone were very satisfying.

Terence Stamp wasn't given much to do, and his character was a disappointment. He was simply too glum and uninteresting, two things that Seigfried never was. Bernie Kopell's Seigfried was fun to watch and we loved his interaction with Max; not so here.

Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed it, allowing for the fact that it had to be different from one of my favorite shows. The three other people I saw it with also enjoyed it a great deal, and it got an enthusiastic response from the audience in the theater I attended. I can honestly say something I didn't expect to say: I hope they continue and make sequels.

 

[Albert_M]

I can't recall the last TV show to film movie I watched and generally avoid them, but I thought this one could be fun and it was.

I went in knowing that it's going to be the original. Nothing ever is and nor should it.

However, it has plenty of the concept of the show and flows well. It's well cast and had several funny moments.

If you go in wanting to see a 2008 episode of the 60's show, then you will never see your expectations met, but if you want to see a good, solid contemporary film version, then this works wells.

Good summer fun.

 

[James_Kiang]

My wife and I just got back from seeing Get Smart. She watched the show growing up and while I watched it I would not say I had any preconceived ideas about it. Having said all that, we both enjoyed the movie quite a bit. We were laughing throughout the movie, as was the pretty full audience we were with. There was applause for the dancing scene and again at the end of the film. We are both Steve Carrell fans but we were worried he might be bringing too much of his character from The Office to this role. That ended up being totally wrong. Entertaining film that I would recommend.

 

[Ron68]

I didn't like the trailers for this movie but decided to take a chance on it based on the positive reviews, I enjoyed it. It took me awhile to get into it though, I thought the first act was uneven and somewhat amusing. Once Smart and Agent 99 left for Russia, then the movie started picking up steam. The more the movie went on, the more I started to laugh. I really liked the action and the characters, Carrel and Hathaway had developed a strong chemistry by the time the movie was over. I though Terence Stamp was great as Siegfried, I liked how he underplayed the role and came across as oily. His performance added to the humour. I would have liked to have seen more of the supporting cast at CONTROL, they were all great, though Agent 23 being the double agent was very predictable
. The more I think about the movie, the more I realize how good it is, I think I will like it even more on a repeat viewing.

 

[Shad R]

I went to a second viewing the other night. I gotta say, the comedy stays funny the second time around. Just wanted to chime in again.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I finally saw "Get Smart" and found it to be pretty entertaining, mainly on the strength of the burgeoning chemistry between Max and Agent 99, and some funnily executed spy gag sequences that produced some good laughs from me. I don't have much attachment to the old series, so less baggage for me to lay at the movie's doorsteps.

Steve Carell did a good job balancing Max's over-eagerness with his analytical smarts in his new role as field agent, while Anne Hathaway was pretty hot and exceptionally competent as Agent 99, and yet somewhat vulnerable when the script required it of her.

I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.

 

[Tony J Case]

So I just got back from using my free ticket for the Hulk from watching Hulk, Iron Man and Get Smart. Of the three, surprisingly, Get Smart was the winner. It was a reasonably faithful adaptation, some legitimately funny moments and some pretty good action, All in all considering that I paid nothing for it, I'd say I came out ahead in the deal. I loved the show as a kid, and I wasnt offended at all.

(And if you were wondering, I thought the Hulk was crap and Iron Man was ok).