New GET SMART movie

GET SMART

I saw GET SMART the other night. It reminded me a lot of DRAGNET, the 1988 movie version with TOM HANKS and DAN AYKROYD. Both movies update old TV shows, with none of the charm, wit, or strong performances of the originals.

The new GET SMART movie is a generic action comedy. It has car chases, explosions, a few mildly amusing jokes, and not much else. They could have called this movie BEVERLY HILLS COP 4 or RUSH HOUR 4. It really is indistinguishable from any other action/comedy.

STEVE CARELL has the look of MAXWELL SMART, but I've never liked him as an actor. I've never believed him in any role.

The new GET SMART movie is about a plot to blow up a nuclear bomb in L.A., thus killing the U.S. president and other visiting foreign dignitaries attending a classical music concert. (Wasn't this the same plot to the movie FOUL PLAY, only with the Pope instead of the President?)

As far as GET SMART movies go, this is better than THE NUDE BOMB, the 1978 flick that offered raunchy versions of all the old jokes from the TV series. The new movie has some of the old jokes, but not all of them.

The best part about the movie is the cameos by people like BILL MURRAY, JAMES CAAN as a vicious parody of PRESIDENT BUSH, and even one cast-member from the old TV show: BERNIE KOPELL, who played the arch-villain SIEGFRIED, reprising his German accent here.

PATRICK WARBURTON has a cameo as HYMIE the ROBOT, and that is an inspired casting choice. ANNE HATHAWAY is a decent Agent 99, but she is distracting because you spend most of the movie trying to decide if she is pretty or not. She has a great body, but her face is sometimes hot, sometimes not. Very confusing!

Overall, GET SMART is a harmless time-killer, but not really worth your time. You'd be better off watching a few old episodes of the TV series.