June 29, 2008

REVIEW: Get Smart

Get Smart
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin
In a nutshell: Get Smart is a typical spy comedy, but the talents provide some real laughs that make for an enjoyable ride.

But first, the story:
Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is an incompetent member of a secret organization called CONTROL, and he wants to be promoted from analyst to field agent. But after CONTROL's enemy- KAOS- infiltrates CONTROL headquarters and hacked through the files thus making them know the identity of every agent, and this forces CONTROL's boss (Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine) promote Smart, this therefore puts Smart's idol, Agent 23 (The Rock), out of the field, but for now, let's just say it's an irrelevant piece of information.

Anyway, Smart is not alone as he is accompanied by Agent 99 whose identity was not compromised for some reason (let's just leave it at that). At first, they don't get along, but in time they do. Explosive things are abound, and likewise do the laughs. But in the end, will the duo be able to stop KAOS' plan to destroy the Walt Disney Concert Hall?

I have been waiting for this movie since I first saw the trailer in the Internet, and to tell you the truth, I was not disappointed contrary to what the critics say.

"I was not disappointed"
One factor to it all is probably because I haven't seen the source material, although, yes, episodes keep popping up on YouTube. Another reason to that was probably because of the fact that I had the expectation that it was gonna be a typical summer spy comedy, so yeah, I definitely got what I was expecting, and then some.

"And then some..."
What made it a little bit more special was probably the star power invading this casting coup of a movie. I mean, Steve Carell is definitely one of the best comedians around, and Anne Hathaway, always a charm to see her act, is going back to comedy after a slew of serious films- and she's more beautiful than ever!

Noticeably, The Rock has been removed from Dwayne Johnson's name, probably wanting to distance himself from his wrestling persona so that people can see him as a serious actor. Of course, he still plays the same idiotic buff guy personality he's been playing all the time, but this time it's a little bit funnier.

The comedy
Steve Carell is always the king of awkward silences, and he puts this to good use, along with his other comedic skills to make this typical summer comedy into a more enjoyable one. So yeah, the film's really funny- not exactly ROTFLMAO, but a little closer to LOL if you want me to use Leet speak.

There is one really goofy highlight that's probably gonna be kept in tight wraps for now, but if you want to really know, then you'll have to find out for yourself, cause it's definitely the funniest part.

Of course, not all jokes work, but most of them somehow manage to anyway.

Action-packed!
Of course, there's always the rudimentary gadgets and horsing around, but the thing is, the film could might as well be as well-made as a real Bond film.

There are explosions, gunfights, and stunts abound as well as the typical red lasers and such. Truly, the budget for this film was obviously high.

Overall
Get Smart is worth a watch if you've already watched all the other heavyweights (Wanted, Wall-E), and will make you laugh, even if it's for a little bit. And that's because it's hard not to like the great cast, even though yes, the plot is definitely generic. Still, the people have successfully translated a 60's series into the contemporary world, and I applaud them for that, so yeah, I'm definitely gonna watch all those old Get Smart episodes on YouTube.

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