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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 2251
Released: November 4, 2008 |
| Our Price: $3.91 |
| Used Price: $1.40 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Maxwell smart agent 86 for control battles the forces of kaos with the more competent agent 99 at his side. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 11/04/2008 Starring: Steve Carell Dwayne Johnson Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Pg13
Description of Get Smart (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition):
The Cold War may be over, but that doesn't mean it can't still be milked for laughs. Get Smart, the sassy film version of the Mel Brooks/Buck Henry-created '60s TV satire, brings plenty of elements of the original series and spins it freshly into the new world of bad guys in the 21st century, pretty much without losing a beat. Steve Carell is perfectly cast as the bumbling Maxwell Smart--but in a slick improvement on the TV show, Smart isn't really hapless--though he has a bit of a self-esteem problem (all around his apartment are sticky notes with exhortations like "You can DO it!"). Carell's Maxwell Smart is a sharp techie researcher at the uber-secret crime-battling agency, CONTROL, who's just a little out of his element out in the field. As his data-crunching sidekick Bruce (Masi Oka of Heroes) says, "We're the ones guarding democracy!", aghast that Max would want to be an agent.
But Max longs for the action enjoyed by the likes of Agent 23 (a godlike Dwayne Johnson), with glamorous deployments around the world. When he finally gets his dream assignment--as the newly minted Agent 86--he's paired up with the slick and experienced Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), who provides great lines, not to mention some interesting chemistry, while she continually saves Max from harm's way. The cast is terrific, with memorable appearances by Alan Arkin as the Chief, Terrence Stamp as the head of the uber-evil KAOS, and Bill Murray as a (literally) put-out-to-pasture agent whose spy post is inside a tree ("really great, old-school stuff" he calls his assignment). And there's plenty of action, explosions, and creative shootouts with the bad guys (highlight: a freefall from a plane, with two people and just two parachutes). But it's Carell and his combination of insecure yearning and deadpan delivery that make Get Smart as, well, smart as it is. When Max learns he's finally been promoted to agent, he slips into the Cone of Silence--which unfortunately is malfunctioning. "I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" he yells, as his colleagues sit nearby hearing the whole thing. Discovering that, he purses his lips and says, "Well, that's a sucker-punch to the gonads." Sorry about that. --A.T. Hurley
Get Smart (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
Funny, but not a classic like the show 
2009-11-03 - Get Smart is based on the classic 1960s sitcom starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart and Barbara Feldon as agent 99. In the movie Steve Carrell as Smart is Control's top analyst but he wants to be an agent. He finally gets his chance when Control agents all over the world are attacked at once by KAOS and they are left short handed. So agent 86 goes on his first mission with agent 99 played by Ann Hathaway.
The cast play their parts with verve and their are several laugh out loud moments in the movie, but it doesn't sustain the laughs throughout. People who didn't watch the TV show may like it more. I loved the old show and found the differences off-putting. Don Adams played Smart with a bumbling arrogance. Carrell is a brilliant comedic actor but he played Smart so straight he had almost no personality. Barbara Feldon's 99 was smart and confident but also vulnerable. Hathaway's 99 was self-centered and abrasive at times. Get Smart is a funny movie but not a classic like the TV show.
Steve Carell: Smart & Funny / Anne Hathaway: Smart & Sexy 
2009-10-30 - Great fun movie for all viewers as it captures the brilliant British humor that has made the UK series such a big hit. The casts of the film were brilliant as they all had a complimentary role to the two leads; Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway. I would definitely recommend this film to all movie goers as it is jam packed with smart and sexy humor and comprises of some pretty cool action sequences but the comedy is the bread and butter of this film.
Fun Action! 
2009-10-16 - Totally laugh out loud movie! If you're a Steve Carell fan - actually if you're an 'office' Steve Carell fan - go out and rent this DVD right now cuz you're missing out! This was such a fun action movie with all the special effects and excitement still very present. Awesome Awesome. Steve Carell does his 'thing' in this movie and he is just too awesome for words. To speak something so ridiculous with a straight face in such a serious situation - I wonder how his co-stars managed to get through the scenes without laughing their heads off. And the sparkling diamond of the movie - Anne Hathaway - is it just me, or does she get more beautiful in each film? She is a 'knock out.' Really lovely to see her combine her comic talents with the swift actions. This woman can kick butts with sexy style. All the other casts were downright hilarious. Alan Arkin - need I say more? And the geek twins Bruce and Lloyd were truly icing on the cake. Nice to see Masi Oka - the Japanese hero who travels through time - in such a fun movie.
I did knock one star off cuz the friends I went to see the movie with weren't as enthusiastic as I was. Obviously, I know they're wrong. I have seen this movie three times.
Funny movie
2009-09-13 - Get Smart is a funny movie. The combination of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway unexpectedly provided good laughs and good acting. It is entertaining to watch for the whole family. Blu- ray picture quality is excellent. Sound reproduction added another dimension to the movie.
another weak translation of a TV classic . . . 
2009-08-24 - As original ideas are hard to come by, it seems that eventually most every successful `classic' television series will be considered as the basis for a feature film. With a history of rather abysmal results through the years, some who are actually familiar with the subject programs, have come to expect very little of such projects. The world is decidedly different some forty years later, and the film version of Get Smart, retains little of the relevance, and even less of the charm or humor of the original series. Like so many other big screen adaptations, the film attempts to capitalize on whatever cache may remain in a classic franchise, utilizing just a few threads from the TV series. As the target audience for the film are those who may never have seen Don Adams as Agent 86, Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, Ed Platt as The Chief, and Bernie Kopell as Siegfried, this lack of connection was probably deemed irrelevant.
By making Max and 99 strangers, the heart of what made the original Get Smart so special is removed. Instead of a warm familiarity, the characters start coldly at ground zero. Besides his height, Steve Carell bears few similarities to the original Maxwell Smart. Anne Hathaway may be talented and charming, but the version of 99 she is given, has little in common with Feldon's character. There are winks and nods to the past; 86's red Tiger Sunbeam convertible and shoe phone, Agent 13 (Bill Murray) in a tree, Fang the dog, and Bernie Kopell's cameo, to name a few, but they really don't make any substantial contribution to the story. With a skeleton framework, and main characters that are mere shells of the original, this Get Smart is firmly targeted for today's audience.
As such, the film isn't very funny, and only because of a strong finish, is it even a halfway decent action/adventure flick. Up until the setting shifts to Los Angeles, Max and 99, clash and step on each other toes. Perhaps the only bit in the entire film that is humorous is the dance number at the party, and there again the two leads are going against each other. The Chief (Alan Arkin), and Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson) are mainly on the bench until they get to LA, where their contributions do help rescue Get Smart from forgettable oblivion. The filmmakers consulted with series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, but it apparently didn't help much. One good decision was to play down the delivery of Max's classic lines.
The film can also be viewed in a mode where alternate takes and versions are inserted, supposedly providing '62% more laughs'. That stated improvement is not only hyperbole, but is false. The alternate gags usually aren't funny, and instead of being a positive, these lame alternates just confirm how badly the writers were lost, groping for the right words. What is really unfortunate is that the producers apparently fail to understand that reinserting the discarded material, does not cast the film or the filmmakers in a better light. Instead they both seem rather pathetic, similar to watching a standup comedian bomb over and over again, with bad joke after bad joke.
Now that the premise has been set, a sequel is probably being planned. Siegfried can be retrieved from the drink, and he and Starker could be featured more prominently. Hymie should be good to go. In the 'sensitive' villain Dalip (Dalip Singh), they have their version of Jaws (from the Roger Moore Bonds), primed for the next adventure. Jaws did a parachute stunt in Moonraker, so next perhaps Dalip on a cable car? Hopefully now that Agents 86 and 99 have developed a relationship, the writers will do a better job, because there is really huge room for improvement.
