Not all that Smart, but fun nonetheless

Get Smart
(Peter Segal, 2008)

3 Stars

After recent nagging from my youngest brother to watch this Steve Carell spy caper, a remake of the classic American comedy series, I stumbled upon a copy in my local DVD store’s bargain bin (keeping in mind the price of DVDs over here dictates that the bargain bin is still more expensive than a brand spanking new release in the UK) and thus, with Harry’s ever gleaming review in mind, trotted home to share in his mirth.

And for the most part, I did. Get Smart is a pretty fun jaunt, with a few very enjoyable performances; most notably the always awesome Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine, So I Married an Axe Murderer) as the intelligence chief, and Heroes favourite Masi Oka as wonderfully stereotypical boffin Bruce. Unfortunately, thereafter, the cast are rather dust and lustless; Steve Carell (a number of films I really don’t care for) is his typical overrated self, whilst the lovely Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, Alice in Wonderland) makes me wonder, not for the first time this month, exactly how she has risen to fame. Even Hollywood legend Terrence Stamp (Superman II, Young Guns) is utterly wooden as the generic baddie. And I shan’t bother to go into Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s performance…

The story is well-worn and predictable, causing me to work out exactly the outcome within moments of being introduced to the cast, but fortunately this mundanity is punctuated by some decent puns and some good old fashioned slap-stick. And a cameo by Bruce Campbell.

On the whole, Get Smart reminded me very much of a sub-par Ace Ventura; the kind of thing that Jim Carey would’ve done between better films. But then, Steve Carell has pretty much taken his place in the world. See Evan Almighty for more information.