125 replies to this topic

[Napoleon Solo]

I was really hoping that the rumor of this film being Smart's origin/first assignment was just a rumor. 99 more experienced than 86? Sigh.

Yeah, this is rather disappointing. I wish they wouldn't have done that.

Part of Smart's character is that he "thinks" he knows it all.

Ironically, in the new movie, Mazwell Smart mirrors Barbara Feldon't character in a first-season Man From UNCLE episode.

In that show ("The Never-Never Affair"), Barbara Feldon plays Mandy Stevenson, an UNCLE translator who years for the excitement of espionage. Napoleon Solo, feeling sorry for her, invents a fancy story to make it seem like she's going to be an important courier when she's really getting Mr. Waverly's pipe tobacco. Through a quirk, she receives an important microdot and now both the heroes and villains are trying to get to her first.

In this movie, as I understand it, Max is an analyst who yearns for the excitement of espionage, etc.

For me, in the original show, you didn't try to explain Max. He just *was* what he was -- bumbling in some ways but somehow he could always handle himself (the fight scenes were reasonably well done). It's a contradiction. You don't explain it. It just IS.

[TheSaint]

Ironically, in the new movie, Mazwell Smart mirrors Barbara Feldon't character in a first-season Man From UNCLE episode.

In that show ("The Never-Never Affair"), Barbara Feldon plays Mandy Stevenson, an UNCLE translator who years for the excitement of espionage. Napoleon Solo, feeling sorry for her, invents a fancy story to make it seem like she's going to be an important courier when she's really getting Mr. Waverly's pipe tobacco. Through a quirk, she receives an important microdot and now both the heroes and villains are trying to get to her first.

In this movie, as I understand it, Max is an analyst who yearns for the excitement of espionage, etc.

For me, in the original show, you didn't try to explain Max. He just *was* what he was -- bumbling in some ways but somehow he could always handle himself (the fight scenes were reasonably well done). It's a contradiction. You don't explain it. It just IS.

Exactly. I am reminded of the abominable Kilmer Saint film. If his creator, Leslie Charteris, didn't write an origin for Simon Templar, what made the writers think they could craft one that would do the character justice?

[jaguar007]

Exactly. I am reminded of the abominable Kilmer Saint film. If his creator, Leslie Charteris, didn't write an origin for Simon Templar, what made the writers think they could craft one that would do the character justice?

I must say The Get Smart movie looks much more faithful to the original than the Val Kilmer Saint movie(by the look of the 1st trailer). A good example is Casino Royale, they gave Bond his first mission as a 00 and while doing that they certainly made the most Fleming like Bond movie since 1969. Hopefully the producers of the new Saint TV series will take a page from the success of Casino Royale and be faithful to Leslie Charteris original character (unlike the 1997 Saint movie).

[TheSaint]

Actually, all the producers have to do is take a page from all other previous Saint incarnations minus the Kilmer film to make a successful Saint tv series.

[Joyce Carrington]

Just saw a new trailer which had me chuckling again.

Loved the moment where Hathaway's character gets out of the elevator.

http://www.apple.com...er2/medium.html

[Mr Teddy Bear]

It seems more of a Steve Carell than a Get Smart film from the trailer.

[Dell Deaton]

I was really hoping that the rumor of this film being Smart's origin/first assignment was just a rumor. 99 more experienced than 86? Sigh.

Yeah, this is rather disappointing. I wish they wouldn't have done that.

Part of Smart's character is that he "thinks" he knows it all.

... In this movie, as I understand it, Max is an analyst who yearns for the excitement of espionage, etc.

For me, in the original show, you didn't try to explain Max. He just *was* what he was -- bumbling in some ways but somehow he could always handle himself (the fight scenes were reasonably well done). It's a contradiction. You don't explain it. It just IS.

Just saw the new trailer and was actually less excited about the film than I was w/ the first one. While I suppose I wasn't suprised that it had to depart in some of the necessary "major motion picture" ways from the original TV series, I guess the phone booth opening I'd seen before just connected w/ me better.

Agree w/ some of the other Posts here as well about Steve Carell being more himself than Maxwell Smart. I like him in The Office a lot, and he had another movie out recently that I have to remind myself to rent (something about "Dan"). But watching him more extensively now in the latest Trailer, it seems that you'd have to like him to like this movie; if you're looking for something truer to Don Adams, I'm not seeing it.

***

Note to self: If you decide to attend your 30-year high school class reunion, remember to go back and delete (or at least be prepared to deny) Posts like this, wherein you analyze and refer back to being "authentic to the classic work of Don Adams." Mrs. Fisher would role over in her grave!

[tdalton]

I thought that the film looks like it will be fairly good and funny, judging from the trailer. I think that Carrell is funny in most of the films that he's been in, so I'll definitely have to give this one a viewing at some point.

[darkpath]

Just saw a new trailer which had me chuckling again.

Loved the moment where Hathaway's character gets out of the elevator.

http://www.apple.com...er2/medium.html

I rather liked this latest trailer...

and I am getting nostalgic for the old Sig Sauer P230 (I'm positive this is what Ms. Hathaway is holding in the teaser poster).

I do like the way the characters are portrayed, though I have misgivings on the necessity of an origin story. Still, I think it's got potential. They do seem to have gotten it right that despite the bumbling, Max actually does come out ahead.

[Bryce (003)]

Heh-heh-heh...

Okay, I agree that origin films based on old TV series usually go down in flames (I Spy, Wild Wild West etc.), but this *seems* to be going down the right path.

I've recently finished viewing the complete DVD set and the old magic is still there. I HIGHLY suggest getting it. The bloopers are to die or kill for.

As to this, the 2nd trailer just adds to it. I'll be there opening night and oddly life imitates art once in a while. I've had and have more "Max moments" in my desire to be a suave double-O than I care to admit.

Joyce - Not a bloody word about the door incident...Or the curb...or the elevator...or the stairs and leave the lobster incident alone. Matt would appreciate you omitting his greeting of the Nice airport as well.

Max always epitomized what I call the 11th Commandment - "thou shalt not give up". If one thing he always was great with his hand-to-hand combat.

Lastly, here's a pic from my London trip of Miss Lava Sterling. Her style has always been retro 60's, but her particular attire is oddly familiar given this latest trailer. She'll always be Lava (mixed with some Emma Peel) to me, but she's certainly got some 99 going on.

Anyway, roll on Max. I have high hopes. Contemporary, old school or whatever. It should be fun.

Attached Files

•  Embracing_her_inner_99.JPG   336.87KB   29 downloads

[sharpshooter]

I'll see it at some point. I think it may be quite good judging from what little I have seen.

[Dell Deaton]

...I've recently finished viewing the complete DVD set and the old magic is still there. I HIGHLY suggest getting it. The bloopers are to die or kill for....

To which version of the DVDs are you referring? I'd heard there was a new set coming out this past fall (!). But there was something like a CBS or Time-Life version before that, w/ the entire series?

[Professor Dent]

The trailer definitely had some funny moments like:

"Did you see anything while I was dancing?"

From what I've seen, not sure any of the gags are groundbreaking but this still looks to be a fun movie.

[Gobi-1]

Check out this link for all the news regarding the Get Smart DVD set from Time-Life.

http://www.tvshowson...hows/Smart/1884

It's likely Warner Brothers will release a Season One set around the time of the new film's release date. Also the original Get Smart movie "The Nude Bomb" is already schedule for release on June 17th.

[Bryce (003)]

...I've recently finished viewing the complete DVD set and the old magic is still there. I HIGHLY suggest getting it. The bloopers are to die or kill for....

To which version of the DVDs are you referring? I'd heard there was a new set coming out this past fall (!). But there was something like a CBS or Time-Life version before that, w/ the entire series?

The Time Life set. All five seasons and every episode is briefly recapped and introduced by the sultry voice of 99 herself - Barbara Feldon. Some have commentaries by herself, Buck Henry and Leonard Stern. Again the bloopers are GOLD.

One extra is the panel discussion done at the Museum of Radio and TV. Poor Don really looks old and his voice is rough, but he's still sharp and Barbara is sitting beside him and just giving him the most loving gaze whenever he was speaking. It's actually touching in a way. 99 loved her Max.

Anyway, I say give this newest incarnation a chance.

The trailer still has me laughing at a few bits, especially with the Rock.

Love the Chief's line "We don't drive staples into people's heads..That's CIA crap!"

[Gobi-1]

Love the Chief's line "We don't drive staples into people's heads..That's CIA crap!"

That was my favorite line as well.

[Joyce Carrington]

Anyone seen this yet? Or planning to see it?

It's not getting great reviews so far...

[ImTheMoneypenny]

Anyone seen this yet? Or planning to see it?

It's not getting great reviews so far...

I read a pretty good review over at Cinematical. The only thing they didn't buy into was Agent 99 and Max's relationship progressing. They made better 'pals', I think they said.

My sister wants to see it. We have this deal where I drag her to movies she necessarily doesn't want to see like Golden Compass or Eastern Promises (She actually ended up enjoying that film.) and in return I go to movies I wouldn't usually want to see, like Amazing Grace or in this case Get Smart. It looks like a pretty good popcorn movie, and enjoyable escape from 90 degree heat of Saturday afternoon.

[dodge]

Maxwell's golden hammer. I was never a fan of the TV show, but this baby's looking terrific. Per McPaper Today, there's equal emphasis on real action and humor, as opposed to kitsch action and spoofery. I see a big hit here and, just maybe, two thumbs up from me after I see it this weekend.

[Aris007]

I saw the trailer the other day and I laughed at many moments. But, if someone saw it, does it worth it?

[TheSaint]

Saw it today-thought it was pretty good! Two easter eggs during the credits sequence. Cameo by Bernie Kopell. No cameo by Barbara Feldon. I was hoping for some kind of cameo by Don Adams the way there was a Bixby cameo in the new Hulk film but no luck, though the film was dedicated to Don & Edward Platt.

By the way, Bond gets namechecked.

[Gobi-1]

Saw the film a few hours ago and thought it was pretty good. I laughed almost the entire movie and though it was perfectly casted. Having said that I do have some issues. The score was a major disappointment. I was hoping for retro 1960s music and found the score to be very generic. Something I wasn't expecting was how modern and serious the film was. It was more like Jason Bourne with comedy then. I'm not sure if it was completely successful. I probably would have liked it to be more broad. Still Steve Carell was perfect and Anne Hathaway was HOT and that's all the really matters. Bring on the sequel I say.

[Bryce (003)]

I "Got Smart" last night.

"AND LOVING IT!"

It's contemporized, of course, but they really nailed it.

Great fun and they didn't milk the old series too much and the classic Max lines weren't over used.

Lovely Anne is a fine 99, the Chief is a great incarnation in Alan Arkin.

GO SEE IT!

Whether you knew the series or not, you'll have a blast.

on the Bryce-o-meter.

Truly, my ribs are still sore. Not just for the laughter during the film, but in thinking about it afterwards and discussing it with friends later. Still snickering now.

Wait until the end when Hymie turns up. Little Fang is a cutie.

P.S. - There's a great homage to the Moonraker PTS in one sequence.

[dodge]

Saw it...and award it: one thumb and one pinkie up. On the plus side, I thought they updated the original with brilliance: just the right blend of real, manly man-style action and zany humor. Carrell nailed the original's deadpan delivery without being enslaved by it: he adds his own touches, all welcome. By and large, the acting was first-drawer, with a dynamite turn by Dwane Johnson.

The Big Neg for me was this: a double exposure that lies at the core. Is Maxwell Smart an American Clousseau...or a potentially competent spy done in, for now, by his inexperience and know-it-all self-opinion? We can't have it both ways. And yet, over and over, the film tries just that. Max proclaims to be a deadly martial artist--then, naturally, he's beaten silly by Agent 99. Okay...but not so fast: a little further down the pike he turns out to be--you guessed it--a martial arts superstar. Or: he's an idiot at one moment then McGyver the next.

I'll take Clousseau or McGyver or Jet smart

but not all at once!

(sorry the computer keyboard has gone haywire with punctuation)

[Dell Deaton]

Nice to see the early reviews are positive. Although I'd seen the trailer a number of times before, when I saw it w/ an audience (prior to Iron Man), my read of that group was that it had mostly fallen flat.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

I thoroughly enjoyed Get Smart though I didn't expect to. It was a fun ride. I don't think I laughed so much at a comedy (in the theatres, that is) in a long time. I was surprised that the action sequences were as good as they were as well. It had a great tone. Loved Alan Arkin. He never lets me down, always funny.

It was worth the ticket price and then some! I'm with Bryce(003)

[Bryce (003)]

To each their own, but truly the word I kept using (dining with my own 99 and her man along with the always stunning Miss Lava Sterling) was "flavor".

Being someone who grew up on the show and having enjoyed the box DVD set, they really did hit it just with the spot on "Oh, yeah" that put a smile on your face.

Having been so let down by various film adaptations of some of my cherished shows, this gave me back my faith in such endeavors. Trust me, there will be a sequel.

Again,

Max: You the man.

[DR76]

Yeah, I just saw "GET SMART" today.


To be honest . . . it was a lot more funny than I thought it would be. Steve Carrell nailed the Maxwell Smart character beautifully. I think that Don Adams would be proud. Also, Carrell and Anne Hathaway, as Agent 99, had great chemistry together.

I hope there is a sequel.

[dodge]

Yeah, I just saw "GET SMART" today.


To be honest . . . it was a lot more funny than I thought it would be. Steve Carrell nailed the Maxwell Smart character beautifully. I think that Don Adams would be proud. Also, Carrell and Anne Hathaway, as Agent 99, had great chemistry together.

I hope there is a sequel.

There will be. There always is. Repetition is the sincerest form of self-flattery...and naked greed.

[zencat]

I enjoyed it. Steve Carrell is great. Anne Hathaway is babalicious. Loved all the nods to the show (like how he encounters in one scene all three of his classic cars). Not overlong. Good fun.