Get Smart (2008)

Director:

Peter Segal

Writers (WGA):

Tom J. Astle (written by) &
Matt Ember (written by) ...

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 for CONTROL, battles the forces of KAOS with the more-competent Agent 99 at his side.

Plot Keywords:

Arch Villain | Remake | Surveillance | Ineptitude | Secret Organization

Status:

Completed

Comments:

Status Updated:

2 January 2008

Note:

Because this project is categorized as being in production, the data is subject to change; some data could be removed completely.

Cast

Steve Carell	...	Maxwell Smart
Anne Hathaway	...	Agent 99
Dwayne Johnson	...	Agent 23
Alan Arkin	...	The Chief
Terence Stamp	...	Siegfried
other cast:
Bill Murray	...	Agent 13
Terry Crews	...	Agent 91
David Koechner	...	Larabee
Masi Oka	...	Bruce
Ken Davitian	...	Shtarker
Dalip Singh
Bernie Kopell
Nate Torrence	...	Lloyd
Brad Grunberg	...	Golfer
Matt Gallini	...	Drug Lord (as Mo Gallini)
David S. Lee	...	Ladislas Krstic
Richard V. Licata	...	Older Russian
David Aranovich	...	Russian Son
Fred Fein	...	Golfer
Günther Ziegler
William Charlton	...	German Spy #1

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Australia:PG | Ireland:12A | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-13 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Harrington, Québec, Canada

Company:

Mad Chance

Trivia:

Jennifer Love Hewitt and Rachel McAdams were considered for the part of "Agent 99" before it went to Anne Hathaway.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Maxwell Smart: [after he gets recruited as a new agent] I request a cone of silence.
Maxwell Smart: [he doesn't press the button hard enough so everyone can hear him] Oh, I'm so happy! I'm so happy! This is the best day of my life!
Lloyd: Dude, you didn't press the button hard enough...
Maxwell Smart: Right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

By far the BEST adaptation of a classic TV series for the big screen.

I just saw an advance screening of Get Smart and it was great! It was simply the best adaptation of a classic TV series for the big screen. I don't know how to explain it but it successfully carried the tone that the original series had. It was silly but not too silly and, at the same time, a little serious but not too serious. Familiar characters, props, music, jokes and lines all brought back fond memories of a delightful TV series. And there were plenty of new elements in this film that made it interesting and entertaining to watch.

Steve Carrell was terrific as Agent 87 and seemed to capture the essence of Maxwell Smart. Not only did his portrayal of him resembled that of Don Adams' from the sound of Smart's voice to the delivery of Smart's lines, Carrell managed to inject a bit of his own personality to create a new Smart that didn't stray too far away from the old.

Anne Hathaway was perfect as Agent 99. She did bear some resemblance to Barbara Feldon and actually delivered her lines in a similar manner as her at times. But more importantly, she had great chemistry with Carrell. A key ingredient to Get Smart's success was Maxwell Smart and Agent 99's chemistry and I'm glad the writers of this film didn't forget that. Feldon and Adams had terrific chemistry and so too did Hathaway and Carrell.

Unlike previous film adaptations of old television series that only superficially resembled their TV series counterpart, this film can truly be considered a big screen version of the Get Smart TV series. Where Lost In Space, Mission Impossible, Charlie's Angels, Starsky and Hutch and (have I missed anything?) have failed, this film succeeded in maintaining the tone and style of the original series upon which it's based. Moreover, the filmmakers managed to bring Get Smart up to date without forgetting its roots. New ideas created for this film seemed to be natural extensions of those used for the original series. Jokes, props, music, characters and plot, old and new, all seemed to be born from the Get Smart world.

I wish I could get into more details but I don't want to give anything away. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and highly recommend this to anyone, especially fans of the original TV series.