125 replies to this topic

[dodge]

Well, it certainly did kick The Love Guru's butt. Lesson to Mike M: don't wait five years between non-animated roles...then pit a quirky little film against the combined colossus of Steve Carrell and Get Smart.

[Bryce (003)]

...Loved all the nods to the show (like how he encounters in one scene all three of his classic cars).

That was a good one, especially the driver of the Opel GT.

It was funny growing up when I was about ten, my brother had an Opel GT, one of my teachers drove a Karmin Ghia and a friend of my Mom sported about in a Sunbeam Tiger. I rode in all three at one time or another. All the Get Smart cars.

[john.steed]

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.

I agree in all points. I especially loved the homage to MR that some already noted.

[Joe Bond]

Saw it twice already and I have to say I was on the fence about this movie because the trailers didn't really blow me away but I decided to take a chance and I did not regret it because not only was it really funny but it had solid bits of action for a comedy and it had a good love story between Agent 99 and Max which was done very well. I loved the Bill Murray cameo as agent 13 and I also loved the little nods to the old show especially when he breaks out of his jail cell and takes the suit and car from the CONTROL museum exhibit. Even though the scenes at the beginning and ending of the movie were Max walks through the different doors were done with CGI I thought they were done well especially at the end. All in all I was surprised how good this was and I think its funny but what puts it to a different level for me are the scenes like when Agent 99 talks about her past and the scene where Max sneaks up to 99 when she is talking to the chief about Max possibly being a double agent which gives these characters multiple dimensions.

[DR76]

I've posted photos from the movie on my blog: The Rush Log - "Get Smart"

[Bryce (003)]

Nice Pics.

Damn phone booths. They're tricky.

Attached Files

•  Bryce_is_Max.JPG   135.86KB   27 downloads
•  Awww_Come_On.JPG   154.46KB   21 downloads

[Arbogast777]

Ok, so not the BEST weekend for Agent 99...

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors say an Italian businessman who has been romantically linked to movie star Anne Hathaway has been arrested on wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges.

Raffaello Follieri is due in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.

He is accused of falsely telling an investor that he had been appointed as the chief financial officer of the Vatican.

Authorities say he claimed that, as a result of that connection, he and others could obtain properties of the Catholic church in the United States at a substantial discount to fair market value.

The name of his attorney could not immediately be determined.

[Joe Bond]

Hey Bryce 003 since you know a lot about the original series and since I have seen the majority of the episodes on TV but I think I have only seen the episodes when Max and Agent 99 are married which means I have not seen season one and I was wondering if the relationship when they first meet in the first episode is any different from the movie, I know that in the movie Max has just become a agent and in the first episode he is an agent already but I was just wondering about this since this movie has me wanting more after each time I see it, so I wanted to check out the episodes before they become a couple since I have not seen them.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

Went ahead and instead of seeing a new movie this afternoon, my sister and I went and saw Get Smart again. This time around my sister enjoyed it and laughed more. I think I laughed even harder too. There was a decent crowd for it and people were laughing in all the right places, some even cheered.

Second time was a charm, this movie holds up very well!

[Joe Bond]

Yeah this movie holds up very well, in fact I will probably go for a thrid and last time next weekend since its my birthday and I will also buy this movie when it comes on DVD and this is saying something because I don't usually buy any new DVD's unless they are Bond DVD's.

[Professor Dent]

Finally saw this over the weekend & loved it. Carell is perfect as Maxwell Smart & the gags worked well without being over the top cheezy. I was in Washington DC last weekend & did a double take when he walked into the National Museum Of Natural History to get to Control headquarters. Alas, there was no Control exhibit on the lower level but the rotunda looks the same. Pics here & here.

[Bryce (003)]

Hey Bryce 003 since you know a lot about the original series and since I have seen the majority of the episodes on TV but I think I have only seen the episodes when Max and Agent 99 are married which means I have not seen season one and I was wondering if the relationship when they first meet in the first episode is any different from the movie, I know that in the movie Max has just become a agent and in the first episode he is an agent already but I was just wondering about this since this movie has me wanting more after each time I see it, so I wanted to check out the episodes before they become a couple since I have not seen them.

Hey Joe -

The Max/99 relationship of the series built up slowly from season one. 99 was always a bit doting on Max. She had a "spy crush" on him and it went from there. While never throwing herself at him, she saw Max for the agent he was but didn't think of him as just that. Barbara Feldon was amazing opposite Don and her take on the character was great.

I like what they did in the film. Anne really makes 99 her own and her tone and delivery of her lines and character evokes a sense of the original 99 without copying it. Opposite Carrel's Max, it just works. The chemistry is there for certain. I'm planning to see it again this next week.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

Yeah this movie holds up very well, in fact I will probably go for a thrid and last time next weekend since its my birthday and I will also buy this movie when it comes on DVD and this is saying something because I don't usually buy any new DVD's unless they are Bond DVD's.

Happy soon to be birthday. That's a great way to celebrate! This movie is certainly what my sister and I called dvd-worthy, which means when it comes out on Dvd we'll buy it. I'll probably see it again a few times once it hits our dollar theatres.

Finally saw this over the weekend & loved it. Carell is perfect as Maxwell Smart & the gags worked well without being over the top cheezy. I was in Washington DC last weekend & did a double take when he walked into the National Museum Of Natural History to get to Control headquarters. Alas, there was no Control exhibit on the lower level but the rotunda looks the same. Pics here & here.

Those are great! I wish they really had a Control exhibit.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

Absolutely Amazing! Loved Carrel as Max and Hathaway as #99 is gorgeous. They've got me at the beggining, I really tought they weren't going to use the "Get Smart" intro. On the other hand, I didn't like Terrence Stamp as Siegfried, he looks too evil, and Bernie Kopell's Siegfried was laughable.

By the way, have you noticed the nods to Moonraker and Octopussy?

[[dark]]

I can't be the only one who found this a disappointment, can I? At the risk of not enjoying this film for what it was, one can't help but attach certain expectations given its roots.

I grew up on the original TV series - it was a huge part of my childhood, in fact - and approached the announcement of the film with some trepidation. However, as the cast announcements trickled out, I found myself more and more sold on the idea of a big-screen remake. Carell as Smart? There's nobody better suited. Terence Stamp as Siegfried? He could totally pull it off. Bill Murray as Agent 13? Inspired.

So I went into Get Smart last night with only one expectation: that the spirit of the original series remain in tact.

Unfortunately, in that respect, it failed on almost every count. The original series was all about impeccably-timed slapstick comedy and inspired wordplay. Its 2008 incarnation was full of pee / fat people / vomit / male-male kissing jokes that pandered to the lowest common denominator.

Indeed, the movie reeked of such money-grabbing decisions. Why should CONTROL be yet another futuristic headquarters, which we've seen in countless films; what was wrong with a simple modern office? Why slap an irrelevant pop song on the closing credits? Why make the film an overblown actioner (despite some impressive stunts) when that was in no way the point of the original show? Why give every single character such unsubtle tics?

That last one particularly bothered me. This new Get Smart has no straight man (99, possibly, but Anne Hathaway's incarnation was closer to Agent 66 from the '95 revival series than Barbara Feldon's capable spy). In the original, it was Edward Platt's Chief. Here, Alan Arkin (excellent casting) is reduced to a curmudgeonly old man with no qualms about tackling the Vice President - or piloting an aircraft in the film's overblown finale.

Other characters were similarly bastardised. Larabee (in the original series, a kooky guy with a dry wit) became an . Hymie suffered similarly (What's wrong with a robot who takes everything literally? Why reduce him to the childish bickering that tore apart Larabee's character?). Stamp's Siegfried became an unmemorable baddie without the energy or humour Bernie Koppell brought to the role. Bill Murray's 13, perhaps the only character to remain unchanged, was underused (appearing in only one irrelevant scene).

Spoiler

And The Rock's (why is he still in movies?) Agent 23 was so obviously the traitor as the only new addition to the movie's characters.

I acknowledge that it's 2008 and a carbon copy remake of the show simply wouldn't work (especially 99's fawning adoration of Max), but surely it could have been closer in spirit. Everything that was so clever and subtle in the original show is hugely overblown here.

It wasn't without its pros: the opening door gag was a nice play on the famous series intro, Bernie Koppell looks wonderful for his age (would it have been too much to expect him to return as Siegfried?), and Carell's casting as Max still impresses me, even if the script was way off.

Now that the obligatory origin story is out of the way (not that Max's past needed fleshing out: he is what he is), I'm hoping the inevitable sequel will settle into more familiar territory - the Get Smart we all know and love.

[delfloria]

I have to agree with dark on all accounts. The new film is just a shadow of what the Get Smart series was. I think it would have worked better if Steve and Anne had played original characters who are working for CONTROL and that Steve's new character idolized Maxwell Smart, who was CONTROL's top agent in the 60's.

[deth]

I went in expecting the worst, and so with that, I really enjoyed it. Much better than I'd expected...

[Napoleon Solo]

I went in expecting the worst, and so with that, I really enjoyed it. Much better than I'd expected...

I saw it the other day. Best attention to detail: the main titles where we see mug shots of Michael Dunn as Mr. Big (from the pilot to the television series) and (as part of Max's cramming for his exams) notes that refer to "the Claw (or Craw?)".

Worst: Larrabeee comes across as boarish and he wasn't in the show.

Overall impression, IMO : more positives than negatives, but a few rough patches.

[Aris007]

The film was really good. I laughed with my heart! Agent 99 looked REALLY NICE! The funniest moment in the film was in the aeroplane. I couldn't control myself! Soooo funny. I think it's the best of all the parodies of James Bond films. The other day, Isaw Spy Hard with Leslie Nielsen and wasn't even close to Get Smart!

[DR76]

Worst: Larrabeee comes across as boarish and he wasn't in the show.

In the movie, Agent 99 came across as sardonic and I don't recall her being that way in the show.

[Arbogast777]

Saw this in Blockbuster today...

[Odd Job]

I saw this one about two weeks ago (sorry I'm so late posting). Like many other posters who grew up with the series, I was very wary of this film. Despite being a fan of Steve Carell's work I didn't think anyone could ever replace the late, great Don Adams as Maxwell Smart. However, again like other posters, I was pleasantly suprised at how enjoyable this film was, I really got a kick out of it (and I'll definitely be adding it to my dvd collection when it becomes available.

The cast were on the whole terrific, especially Carell and I don't need to add how good Anne Hathaway looked (but I will anyway). The smart (no pun intended) thing that the filmakers did was not to make this 'Agent 86' too much like the original, that would never have worked. They did pay homage with a few instances of "missed it by that much" and one of "Would you believe..." but on the whole, this was Carell's Max, and that's why it worked.

My only disappointments were that Terence Stamp looked a little disinterested and the villain was too easy to spot. Also I wish they hadn't started the titles until Max was actually entering Control HQ (like the TV series). Finally, as a long time fan, I loved the nods to the original series that they added so cleverly that it didn't confuse anyone new to the world of 'Max'. In particular, the photo of Mr Big, Fang, Hymie, the reference to 'The Craw' ("Is not Craw, is Craw") and most importantly the cameo from Bernie Koppel.

All in all, highly recommended!!

[Forward Look]

Seen it four times. No dissapointment here. Much better than I expected. While Steve Carrell is no Don Adams, he gave a very good performance as Maxwell Smart. Anne Hathaway pulls off a very good Barbara Feldon with that wig and evening gown during the ballroom dance at Krstic's party, and she even imitates Catherine Zeta-Jones in Sir Sean's Entrapped while navigating through the laser beam security system. Much like Eva Green in CR, Anne Hathaway took awhile for me to notice her performance. She's already proved that she can be more than just a princess bride. And Dwayne Johnson is now getting serious about acting. We may see more of him in action films. Most big-screen remakes of classic TV-series have gone nowhere, as witnessed by Bewitched, Lost In Space, The Saint, The Honeymooners, and even the GS sequel The Nude Bomb, but this new Get Smart really nails it with excellent main characters and ensemble casting. This movie rocks, see it and then buy the DVD!

Steve Carrell=Future Felix Leiter in a Felix Leiter Film

Anne Hathaway=Future American Bond Girl in a Daniel Craig 007 Film

Dwayne Johnson=Future Bond Villain, or even Felix Leiter

These actors have great futures.

Edited by Forward Look, 02 August 2008 - 01:18 AM.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

My only disappointments were that Terence Stamp looked a little disinterested and the villain was too easy to spot.

I don't think Stamp was disinterested in his role, what I think he was doing was playing the role low key, a little too low key as it came across as boredom. It reminded me of his Bernadette character in 'Priscilla'. I'm not sure if dry humour is the right word, but I am unsure how else to describe it. His humour is in the humourlessness of his characters. I've puzzled myself on that one! But anyway, his Siegfried, my sister describes him probably best as having a stick up the the wrong end. A good example of Stamp being funny, is his silent grimace at just thinking of Dalip's wife. It's very subtle, but I found it funny.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the movie. I saw it twice, loved it! I plan on seeing it more!

[Joyce Carrington]

Did I blink and miss it or was that cool moment from one of the trailers - 99 stepping out of an elevator full of unconscious goons - not in the film?

[TheSaint]

Did I blink and miss it or was that cool moment from one of the trailers - 99 stepping out of an elevator full of unconscious goons - not in the film?

It wasn't. MAybe it'll be in the deleted scenes section of the dvd?

[TheSaint]

Speaking of the dvd, Best Buy will have exclusive shoe phone packaging for the 2 disc version on Tuesday.

[Von Hammerstein]

Got the DVD today, hadn't seen Get Smart in the movies so this was my first glance. Overall Fun and Exciting and the old Don Adams lines were still funny, and some used more clever ways.

Also did anyone notice the henchman's (Dalip Singh AKA The Great Khali from tv wrestling) resemblance to Richard Kiel, especially in the parachute scene?

[Bryce (003)]

Enjoyed my DVD as well.

"AND loving it."

Many good laughs. The gag reel almost made me shoot soda out my nose.

The "whispers in the wind" around Hollyweird I've heard have "Get Smarter" in the works. Personally, I hope so.

It may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but it worked for me.

For this spy, it didn't "miss it by that much."

[Vauxhall]

Watched this one last night. Decent fun, although I'm sure I was put at a disadvantage (i.e. not catching the homages) by not having seen the original series.