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Get Smart 9 out of 10 Posted: 06/21/08
Running time: 1:50 MPAA rating: PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language. Peruvian rating: Mayores de 14
Cast:
Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne
Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp, James Caan, Ken Davatian, Dalip
Singh. |
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Even though I was never a big fan of Mel Brooks' original Get Smart TV show, I nevertheless watched it with certain frequency. I didn't laugh during all the episodes, but when a particular airing was funny, it was really funny. It was because of this that I had high expectations for this year's remake: I wanted it to be really funny and entertaining. Well, I must confess my expectations were fulfilled. Get Smart is one of the funniest movies I've seen in recent years, as well as one of the most fun. The films' got everything: solid performances by the leads and the supporting actors, competent direction, lots and lots and humour and, believe it or not, thrilling action sequences. It had been a tradition for TV shows adapted to motion pictures to be boring, stupid and/or done on the cheap; fortunately, the Get Smart movie has been a particularly delightful exception.
The film tells the story of Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), an analyst for CONTROL, a secret American intelligence agency set up to battle against and, eventually, defeat its rival, the evil agency KAOS. When an attack on the CONTROL headquarters by KAOS operative Siegfried (Terrence Stamp) kills many of CONTROL'S agents and leaves the others ones with their identities compromised, Max is elevated from analyst to field operative by the CONTROL leader, The Chief (Alan Arkin) and given the designation of "Agent 86." H then becomes partner with no-nonsense Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) and sent to the mission. Back in the headquarters, the two agents are being helped by Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), who has been transferred to office work because he's too well-known, and geniuses Bruce (Masi Oka) and Lloyd (Nate Torrence), who give Smart all his nifty gadgets.
Get Smart is as successful as it is because it's funnier than 90% of the "comedies" that get released in theatres each year. Much like the original TV show, most its humour consists of silly one-liners and pratfalls, but that's part of its charm. Additionally, the movie's got everything: silly jokes, (there's a villain who's more sentimental than he looks) physical humour, (characters falling and walking into walls) some raunchy stuff (Smart getting caught in an awkward position with a bad guy, a really brief shot of him puking inside a jet) and memorable one-liners. And although not all of these jokes are effective, the success ratio is much more than that of an ordinary comedy. I'm not exaggerating when I say I laughed for, at least, 80% of the film's running time. I know comedy's subjective, but I would find it really hard for a person not to laugh at least twice while watching this flick.
Another good things is that, despite being one of the most incompetent secret agents ever created, Smart has, sometimes, his moments of brilliance. The movie doesn't resort to making fun of its main character to make the audience laugh. Yes, we know Smart is clumsy and everything, and although he sometimes screws things up, he always manages to set everything right. The man does some stupid things, but he is not stupid. Actually, it's really easy to root for him because a.) he's as charismatic as a funny secret agent can be, and b.) we want him to succeed because it always looks as if he wants to succeed. In creating the 2008, the filmmakers haven't sacrificed any of the charm the original TV character played by the late Don Adams had - a lesser director would've made him stupid and unbelievably dumb, but Peter Segal (Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Anger Management) and his team have managed to make him a believable character without hiding the fact that he's not as good an agent as James Bond. (Actually, Smart mentions Bond, complaining that Ian Fleming's character never had to walk on rats and poop.)
By portraying Smart in his own special way, Steve Carell has managed to make him a memorable character who has some of Don Adams' trademark mannerisms and lines, but who's not a direct copy of his performance. In short, Carell makes the character his own, and succeeds at making the audience feel sympathy for him. He's hilarious as Smart: his comic timing is perfect, and some of the funniest situations work because of his hilarious facial expressions. Anne Hathaway, while not as successful as Carell at reviving an old character from a classic TV show, is nevertheless pretty effective as Agent 99. The filmmakers have modernized the character by making it more of a no-nonsense type of girl - she initially doesn't want to work with Smart because, well, she is smarter than him (hehe), but it's not tough to guess that they'll end up together - and although she doesn't exactly light the screen on fire when she's with Carell, they have enough chemistry to make their partnership work. Supporting performances by Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson, Terrence Stamp (looking eviler than ever), James Caan (as a parody of a US president) and Ken Davitian (Borat) are all great. And there's also the cameos - Bill Murray (awkwardly living inside a tree), Bernie Koppell (the original Siegfried) and Patrick Warburton (appearing only during the end.)
What surprised me the most about Get Smart, though, wasn't the fact that it was hilarious or that Steve Carell's performance worked beautifully. It was the fact that, during the last half and hour or so, the film turns into an action flick. Some "action comedies" sacrifice comedy for ridiculous scenes full of explosions and cheap thrills, but Get Smart does more than this. The last few scenes have contains action that actually manages to excite the audience, and doesn't seem to be done of the cheap at all. These last few minutes of running time may contain less humour than the rest of the movie (although there are still a couple of really funny punch lines), but it's more than compensated by the fact that the action is actually thrilling and cool-looking. Stunts and choreography during these action sequences are truly first-rate, which is more than can be said about many so-called "action comedies."
Get Smart is definitely one of the best TV show adaptations that I've seen in recent years, as well as one of the funniest movie's I've ever seen. What I like about it is that the filmmakers have actually respected the legacy of the 60s TV show, and that they have managed to create a delightful mixture of spectacle and humour. Lesser movies with a split personality don't know if they want to be an action flick or a light comedy - Get Smart manages to be both. With its effective performances, hilarious comedic situations and gags, legitimately exciting action sequences, first-rate production values, and competent direction, Get Smart is one of the most entertaining and funny films I've seen all year. If you plan to see The Love Guru this weekend (why on Earth would you do that?) I'd recommend you to change your mind. While Mike Myer's flick is unfunny and frequently stupid, Get Smart has a sense of breezy fun and is as amusing as an action comedy based on a 60s TV series can be. Yup, a remake has beaten the latest Mike Myers flick. Would you believe it...
©2008 Sebastián Zavala - GG site