PopSyndicate.com

A film that stands on its own while doing a good job of paying homage to the original series. 

It’s always nice when a remake is able to stand on it’s own two feet and entertain you while still paying homage to it’s roots.  In this case the comedic geniuses Buck Henry and Mel Brooks.  The original was a spy comedy following the socially awkward and physically inept agent 86 as he fumbled his way into foiling plot after plot of secret enemy agency Kaos, all while working undercover for the super secret agency known as Control.  The original was very cloak and dagger James Bond with ridiculous gadgets and two left feet. 

The remake, starring Steve Carrell as Maxwell Smart (agent 86), Anne Hathaway as agent 99, Alan Arkin as the chief,and Terence Stamp (for purposes of the review and to keep with the playful nature of the tv series and the film) will be called “the bad guy”.  Taking place 40 years after the original series, the super secret agency known as Control has become a museum, a marker dedicated to the end of the cold war.  Officially it doesn’t exist.  Unofficially, agent 86 is an in house analyst for the super secret organization who dreams of one day being allowed to do a little field work.  He is qualified and very able do to the job, an excellent agent, he just gets passed over because he is just too good an analyst.  As fate would have it, Control’s evil counterpart, Kaos, has received a list of all of Control’s field agents.  With Control crippled, Kaos is able to continue its old cold war tricks.  In steps Maxwell Smart to save the day.  With the help of a skeptical agent 99. 

For those of you that haven’t seen the original series, as a primer you have to know that above all else, the series was silly.  There are silly gadgets, silly situations, word play that is charming, a bit quaint, and well… silly.  All of this makes the series very endearing to its fans, me included.  Director Peter Segal has put together a film that will appeal to a broader audience, but he never seems to forget fans of the original series. The film has plenty of the awkward moments that have made Steve Carrell famous, like a semi erotic dance off with a well fed socialite, plenty of action scenes to keep the kids in the seats, and enough of an homage to the original series to make everyone happy. 

The jokes are fast and furious, spliced between action scenes and major plots points.  While a good portion of them fall flat, the ones that hit really work in context of the film and mixed with a cast that really seems to enjoy being in the film and an engaging story, Get Smart is able to stand on it’s own a film that everyone will enjoy.  This film does not attempt to create a carbon copy of the original,just to appeal to a broad spectrum of filmgoers and to remind fans why they enjoyed the original.  It manages to excel at both. 

3