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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"Not better than the series, though far better than both the original TV series' movie..." --from the review ------------- Sidebar :: ------------- No Sidebar comments for this review. Yet...
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Get Smart (2008)
A Review by TechtiteAs always, a review of The Show and the DVD extras. The Film Review: Here's the good news: at no point will this review use the cliché, "Missed it by that much!" Yes, we all know the classic mantra of Maxwell Smart, though no; that mantra has no place here. The fact is, the opposite is true. This isn't a movie that missed it by that much. It's a remake that actually succeeds...though only by so much.The opening scene is a perfect example. The first shots are of various leaders around the world offering various one-line quips. This was best left as the deleted scenes on the DVD, guys. Then we switch to a museum filled with gadgets from the "old days" of the cold war, with each gadget from the original TV series; a nice touch. The tour guide says that the age of secret spy organizations like "CONTROL" is long over. Then Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) smiles as he sneaks away to a secret passage, walking down the familiar hallway of Get Smart, filled with metal doors that open and close as he passes through them. This is one of many little moments that sell the whole movie. The story is simple: KAOS is still around causing major havoc, and it's up to CONTROL to stop them. Yet here's where the movie alters the story; Maxwell Smart is not yet an agent. Seriously? Not only that; the only reason Max is chosen as an agent is because KAOS just stole the list of every current spy working for CONTROL. It is up to new agent 86, Maxwell Smart, to save the day...and loving it! Helping Max is another staple of the original series, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Yes, you have to see the age gap here, though the movie makes this into an amusing inside joke. You see; 99 is actually not too different in age than Max, though she needed a face change to hide her identity as a spy, and during the procedure, they made her look even younger. Who wouldn't, asks 99. That's fair enough. It's equally fair to say that Anne Hathaway is a perfect "99." While it was hardly surprising to see how funny Steve Carell is as Max ---he's pretty much funny no matter what role he's in--- it's Anne's comedic performance which is not just a pleasant surprise. It often steals the show. Whether she's having a spat with Max or fighting the bad guys, she makes every comedic scene funny, every action scene believable, and every sexy scene downright adorable. Though the real question everyone wants to know is: how does it compare to the original? Well, here's a funny story...so to speak. This isn't the first attempt to revive the TV series. While the classic Get Smart series can never be forgotten, they attempted a 1980 movie called The Nude Bomb, which failed for many reasons (the movie currently rates a 4.6 out of 10 at the IMDb). Then they tried to bring back the series on TV with a 1995 remake, starring the original 86 (Don Adams) and even the original 99 (Barbara Feldon). Yet let's put it this way; Their "son" was played by the bane of every show demanding cancellation, Andy Dick. You can see this remake on DVD, though it's best not to. I say all this, to illustrate how even the original show had a hard time "returning" to its roots. This movie succeeds. What the "new" 99 and 86 lack in chemistry, they more than make up for with their comedic timing and very witty banter. It's hard to give an example of this in print, because the movie has many visual gags, that lose their humor when said in text. There's one scene in particular when Max is insisting that he can defeat an armed assailant, and at the same time, 99 has disarmed him while saying. "Bang, you're dead!" in the cutest way possible. All while Max is still insisting he can defeat an armed killer, 99 is aiming the gun, saying "Bang...bang...bang." As I said; it loses something in translation, though when you see it you'll know what I'm talking about. It's a funny scene. Whatever fans of the original series may think of this movie, I think they can admit that the result is better than anything possible. Unless they were to repeat the TV series' premiere line for line, there was little chance of it looking "exactly" like the original. There's also the fact that the cold war is over, making a spy story seem rather dated, no matter what they did to it. Yet if you were going to make a new Get Smart, you couldn't do much better than Carell, Hathaway...and this movie. The DVD Review: I don't know if this counts as unintentional humor, though there's something curious about a DVD that offers "62% more laughs" on the cover, not unlike the re-imagined cereal formula that promises 60% more fiber, or 60% less carbs. Not to nitpick though why 62 percent? Why not an even 60, or perhaps 65? Yeah, let me guess; they wanted 65 though they "missed it by that much"... Okay, so let's just jump to the answer you already know: how cool these added laughs are depend on how much you liked the movie, and that's it. Nothing offered here is going to make you dislike the movie if you liked it. However, if you didn't like Steve Carell as 86 or Hathaway as 99 (and if you didn't like her...seriously, dude? She was the best part of the movie!)then nothing offered here will change your mind. It's more of the same, in the form of: extended and alternate scenes, and an added gag reel. Adding to the fun is a "digital copy" of the film which you can enjoy on most MP4 players, including your iPod, and systems like the Playstation 3. There are "additional features" though as you'd expect, whenever the box packaging says "additional features" yet doesn't list them: these are mostly film trailers and whatnot. Again: not about to change your mind on the movie if you didn't like it. However, I liked the film, so I liked the DVD.
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