Movie Review: Get Smart

Not being very familiar with the television series, I went into Get Smart expecting a fun, entertaining, action movie. I was not disappointed. I will admit that I expected a little more from the script, however, the performances were excellent. I don’t think that this film could have been cast any better.

The main character, Maxwell Smart, is played by Steve Carell of The Office. His leading lady, Agent 99, is played by Anne Hathaway. I think that I was most impressed with her performance. Until now, I’m only familiar with her being a princess in Disney movies. She has really grown up since The Princess Diaries was released in 2001. She is the ideal pairing for Steve Carell. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rounds out the cast as Agent 23.

As I previously stated, I was slightly disappointed with the script. The basic story wasn’t all bad, just not quite what I was expecting and a little too predictable. Get Smart tells the story of how Maxwell Smart becomes a member of the secret government agency referred to as Control. Control’s main job is to rid the world of evil-doers, specifically to thwart the plans of their nemesis, KAOS. Throughout the course of the movie, Smart gets into a series of mishaps caused primarily, by his own clumsiness. Despite his awkwardness, he is actually a decent spy.

Although this film is primarily billed as a comedy, it also stands its ground as a pretty decent action flick. The action scenes were well choreographed and not over done.

As I have eluded to in other reviews, I feel that movie trailers these days give too much of the plot away. They tend to leave nothing to be desired. I felt that way about The Incredible Hulk and after seeing Get Smart, I think that they could have left a few parts out of the trailer to make the film more special. Some of the best parts of the film are unfortunetly included in the trailer.

I would give Get Smart a 3 out of 5. I think it’s an entertaining movie and some parts could be better appreciated in the theater, but it may not be worth the price of a movie admission. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the television series, my advice is to wait until it’s available for rental.