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| YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Movies > Action > Get Smart | |
| ProdID: 2027 - Get SmartDirected byPeter Segal | Product Score: 8.3 |
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In the world of covert intelligence, only one man is Smart. Steve Carell is in CONTROL as Maxwell Smart, the novice agent often out of his depth but never out of options, in this action comedy pitting him against the nuclear scheme of the evil spy group KAOS. Anne Hathaway partners with him as ever-capable Agent 99. Travel with Max and 99 through the dangerous realm of moral radios, malfunctioning pocketknives, exploding dental floss and much more. Look out Agent 007, Maxwell Smart is here to save the day. His way. |
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I never really had a chance to watch the television series when it first came out, and have since probably only watched 5 or 10 minutes of an episode at a time, so I cannot critique whether the film accurately portrays any of the characters from the series, so I will ignore that whole background part and look at the movie as a standalone film. This film follows the tribulations and tasks of the rather uncharismatic analyst Maxwell Smart, played by Steve Carell, who wants nothing more than to be a fully fledged field agent. Maxwell is rather accident-prone, and although his intentions are good, he often becomes more of a hindrance than a help. A comedic film, Maxwell gets his chance to be a field agent, and with the help of his spy gadget-making friends, he goes off to thwart the villains' plans. I was largely unimpressed with this film, the spy portion was left asking, and the comedy was forced. If you took out the comedy, the plot was clearly lacking any substance, and the phrase "flogging a dead horse" did come into my head a couple of times. While I was quite unenthused about this film, I found Anne Hathaway to be an absolutely brilliant co-star. She had an air of professionalism, look of beauty, that was exquisite, but not so overdone that she would look out of place (which is critical in their profession), and she was the one saving grace in this film. |
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Get Smart was one of my childhood tv series pleasures. I would watch it with my mum and laugh at Max's silly antics. 99 would come to the rescue and was one of many strong intelligent female characters who shaped my view of what it was to be a woman. This movie came out at a time when all my childhood tv series were being re-visited (and still are) as movies. They are a tribute to the original, without actually being the original. And that's how I felt about this movie. It was funny and I laughed all the way through. Steve Carell has great timing and delivery. I have enjoyed him in many of his movies, including this one. He is amazing at delivering that American comedy style, of working through something really embarrassing and awkward. Its the kinda acting, where you want to look away but its a train wreck and you can't wait to see how it falls apart at the end. Anne Hathaway is one of my favourite actresses at the moment and she does well in this film. But she isn't the 99 I grew up with. To be fair, the whole movie wasn't the Get Smart I grew up with. Its a modern twist, a tribute but not the real thing. As a comedic spy movie, it was pretty good. As a Get Smart movie, it missed the mark. See it, if you want to laugh and have a good time all the same. |
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I grew up watching Max & 99 and I really loved the show. So when this came out I was sceptical, as a movie remake of a TV series doesn't always work out the best. But I loved this film. I thought that the actors they chose were perfect matches, and I liked that Steve Carell didn't try to 'take over' the character and make it his own, but that he kept Max true to what he was in the TV show. One of my favourite bits has to be that they built their base under the museum dedicated to them, and that later Max takes items from the museum. This movie makes me want to go and watch the original tv show all over again. |
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I used to be a real fan of the original TV series. it was witty, funny and quirky and a total elbow in the ribs to the James Bond franchise. What a hoot! So I was really wonrried what they were going to do to it to make it a modern overhaul. Steve Carell was a perfect stand-in as Maxwell Smart, bumbling but well-intentioned Agent 86. I wasn't too sure about Anne Hathaway as the ever-unnamed Agent 99, but she managed to pull it off quite well. However, by far the best casting was have Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a total poser of a secret agent with a nasty secret. Although I must say they also did really well picking Terence Stamp as 'Seigfried', leader of the bad guys. As a bonus, 'Max' almost had a car accident with the actor who played the original Seigfried in the TV series, Bernie Kopell. I found that a total gem and I would have loved to have seen a few more of the original cast popping up, though the producers did make excellent use of some of the original props such as the iconic shoe-phone. A total laugh well worth buying even at full price. |
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| Printed at 12:21:10am on Saturday 20th April 2024 |
