Film Review

09 January 2009 21:04 BST

Get Smart

Directed by Peter Segal, out August 22nd in cinemas, starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, 110 mins.

In a nutshell...

Fun, silly, unpredictable, adventurous, action-packed

What's it all about?

A team of CONTROL agents is working together to stop KAOS's planned terrorist attack on US soil.

Agent 86 is given new responsibilities after a security breach and his dream of becoming a field agent is about to become true as he walks in the footsteps of a catastrophe-prone version of James Bond.

Agent 86 Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is also accompanied by sexy agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), an experienced field agent, and this is the beginning of an extravagantly fun relationship, with a touch of romanticism.

The two agents end up trapped into a hilarious rivalry over their level of field experience and gadgetry, involving shoe phones, Swiss knifes and many more gadgets.

Get Smart, which is a remake of a TV comedy series from the 60s, takes us away from daunting action movies on a journey to real parody and exciting comedy, which often verges on the slapstick genre.

Take a look at Steve Carell discussing becoming an action hero below:



Who's in it?

Golden Globe-winner Steve Carell stars as agent 86 Maxwell Smart.

One of a number of Daily Show correspondents to make the leap to film, Carell starred in Bruce Almighty (2003) and Bewitched (2005) before shooting to the big leagues in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). He's subsequently appeared in Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Evan Almighty (2007), Dan In Real Lie (2007) and Horton Hears a Who! (2008) as well as continuing to impress as one of the finest actors on television as paper company manager Michael Scott in NBC's The Office.

Anne Hathaway, 25, as agent 99, made her name in The Princess Diaries (2001) before starring in Nicholas Nickleby (2002), Ella Enchanted (2004) and Havoc (2005), Brokeback Mountain (2005), The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and Becoming Jane (2007).

Agent 23 Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, is a 6' 3" wrestling champion and actor who formerly appeared in The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Scorpion King (2002).

Acting greats Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp also feature as the Chief of CONTROL and the leader of the "bad guys" from KAOS, respectively.

The film was directed by The Longest Yard and 50 First Dates helmer Peter Segal.

As an example...

Maxwell Smart talking to Agent 99: "You saw the way I held that man's hair while you punched his face."

"You know you are the only person I know who snores when awake."

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars

Get Smart has a fair chance on the podium.

The movie is fun and dynamic, the actors talented - it's a perfect recipe for success.

Director Peter Segal has already won eight Emmy awards and a CableACE award as best director, while Steve Carell won the Phoenix Film Critics Society award for the best ensemble cast with Little Miss Sunshine in 2006.

Anne Hathaway has also received her fair deal of awards like the DVD Exclusive award for best actress in Havoc (2005).

What the others say

"Director Peter Segal displays his usual middling feel for comedy, flatly presenting gags that seem as though more humor could be wrung out of them. Missed it by that much."- Time Out New York

"Director Peter Segal finds a terrific formula by straying away from the 'mushy' romance scenes and instead sticks to a faster pace, which keeps the humour and action rolling."- The Berthoud Recorder

"No gag is held too long, and many one-liners are tossed off with impressive savoir faire."- The Dallas Observer

So is it any good?

Get Smart is total entertainment! If you are looking for something a bit different, a good laugh or simply good acting, Get Smart is the one for you.

The movie distances itself from anything too serious or too boring, leaving the spectator only with the good stuff, comedy in an action-packed background.

This is 110 minutes of pure jokes and hilarious situations that only Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway could possibly entangle themselves into.

The plane scene is to die for, followed by the beautifully silly mambo dance competition during an undercover operation in Russia.

This is a totally captivating and hilarious comedy, as well as a fascinating adaptation of the series.

Fans of the parody series from the 60s will be under a spell with signature hints that have been retained like the shoe phone or "Missed it by that much".

9/10

Aurore Jouanin

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