While the track record for recent movies adapted from 1960s and ‘70s TV shows has not been terribly impressive, Get Smart works, due to a fairly clever re-imagining of the concept and characters, as well as a perfectly chosen cast. Steve Carell is terrific as Maxwell Smart, the too-clever-by-half intelligence analyst promoted to full-fledged secret agent of CONTROL in response to a deadly attack on the organization's headquarters. Anne Hathaway costars as shrewd, seductive Agent 99, the coolly capable operative who reluctantly partners with Max in his mission to defeat the evil forces of KAOS, personified by the sinister Siegfried (Terence Stamp). A well-developed script fleshes out and slightly alters the TV show's principal characters: Carell's Max is more sensitive than Don Adams' Agent 86, while Hathaway's 99 is more irritable and less supportive than Barbara Feldon's, and Alan Arkin's Chief is more excitable and less stolid than Edward Platt's. Director Peter Segal milks routine dialogue exchanges for every last chuckle, staging them with just as much care as the elaborate action sequences. With the exception of some mildly naughty double entendres (which will probably sail over the heads of younger viewers), Get Smart is suitable entertainment for the entire family. Recommended. [Note: On the two-disc special edition DVD and the Blu-ray versions, extras include the option to watch the film with alternate takes of scenes (over 45 minutes on the Blu-ray, 20 minutes on DVD), “The Right Agent for the Right Job” featurette on behind-the-scenes training (11 min.), a “Max in Moscow!” location featurette (6 min.), a six-minute gag reel, four minutes of “Language Lessons,” and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus outtake segment “The Vomit Reel” (5 min.), and the “KAOS Control” DVD game. Also included is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fun comedy.] (E. Hulse)
Get Smart
Warner, 110 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $35.99, Nov. 4 Volume 23, Issue 6
Get Smart
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