Get Smart

Peter Segal is the latest director to give a cinematic reprisal of a classic and fondly remembered TV series; in this case it’s the iconic Cold War-era sitcom Get Smart. The film reincarnation begs to be taken seriously as an action packed adventure, as the frenzied final act and the casting of Dwayne don’t-call-me-The-Rock Johnson make clear. It's certainly no Bourne Ultimatum, but Get Smart realises this and ups the action quota, in order, to be taken seriously by today’s razor sharp audiences. While the story might be updated to present day shenanigans, you can’t help but feel like you’re watching plots and performances that would fit right in on Cbeebies.

Steve Carrell plays the bumbling idiot spy Maxwell Smart. He works for a secret agency called Control, which is naturally pitted against a group of Soviet bad guys, Kaos. No other comic actor could possibly play this role; Carrell mixes deadpan with some very physical humour to achieve a perfect tone for his character. Anne Hathaway’s sexy Agent 99 is paired up with Max.
The plot is typical James Bond fare – Smart and 99 go on a mission that takes them to the Russian countryside, a terrorist's cocktail party, a nuclear weapons lab cum bakery, and finally back to the US to stop a mushroom cloud forming over Los Angeles. Along the way there’s a whole lot of wild gunfights, general spy stuff, elaborate car chases and enough silly escapist nonsense to tickle the cynics pink. Back home, they're aided by Alan Arkin as the superior Chief at Control and new hotshot Agent 23, played by the aforementioned Rock.

Many references to the TV series are included: the Cone of Silence, the shoe phone and phrases like “Missed it by that much” all appear. However, for those of us who are not au fait with 1960s TV, Get Smart isn't much more than a decent James Bond spoof: a good deal of fun, with a solid laugh ratio and some great lines. You may have the nagging feeling that you've seen it all before but fans of the TV show and eleven year-olds alike will love this comedy.

Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp and James Caan. 
Certificate: 12A
Runtime: 110 minutes (approx)
Release date: 22nd August 2008

Adrian McBreen