"Get Smart" Movie Reviews: It's Nothing To Phone Home About

"Get Smart" opens Friday, and the critics have weighed in. The movie is a big-screen adaptation of a classic 1960s TV show about a secret agent named Maxwell Smart, who's anything but. Steve Carell is the lead, with Anne Hathaway and Duane "The Rock" Johnson as sidekicks. So far, it's gotten mixed reviews. Here's a roundup of what some of the critics are saying.

The Hollywood Reporter has a not nice "Get Smart" movie review:

"Get Smart" the movie has precious little to do with "Get Smart" the iconic TV series from the 1960s, but then again the movie has precious little to do with screen comedy, either.

This is a slap-dash effort whose producers threw money and stunts onscreen instead of the satirical gags and one-liners that made the old spy spoof so memorable.

Here's a bite of the negative "Get Smart" movie review from Newsweek:

Maxwell Smart, the clueless, bumbling secret agent created by Don Adams in the popular '60s TV series "Get Smart," has gotten a major I.Q. boost in the Steve Carell movie version. This is not a smart move.

This is the ho-hum"Get Smart" movie review in USA Today:

This is a film that is keenly aware of its impending summer blockbuster status. And with that in mind, it can't decide whether it wants to be a thrilling action movie or a quirky comic spoof. The elements seem in conflict, rather than seamlessly blended.

The NY Post Get Smart review was a decent 2.5 stars:

It's actually pretty funny (if overlong and overproduced)... "Get Smart" avoids the fate of such duds as "I Spy," "The Mod Squad," "The Avengers" and "Starsky & Hutch" through its genius casting of Carell.

From TimeOut New York's "Get Smart" movie review, a mixed opinion:

Director Peter Segal (Tommy Boy, Anger Management) displays his usual middling feel for comedy, flatly presenting gags that seem as though more humor could be wrung out of them. The only real fun is watching old pros like Arkin (as the Chief) and Stamp (as evil Siegfried) sell material that doesn't deserve the love they give it. There's nothing terribly wrong here, but there's nothing terribly right, either. Missed it by that much.

A final "Get Smart" movie review, care of Roger Ebert was the nicest:

"Get Smart" is an A-level production, not a cheapo ripoff, and some of the chase sequences are among the most elaborate you can imagine.

Variety's "Get Smart" movie review jokes "it's nothing you want to take off your shoe and call home about" and the "Get Smart" movie reviews in Rotten Tomatoes are averaging a middling 53%.

PLUS: Read The Love Guru reviews

Comments

[OneVoiceInACrowd]

excellent movie, the critics all suck but rogers...

[LBBooth]

Roger's review was the most accurate. This was a very funny movie with a lot of satire and little jokes that apparently were missed by some people. Not having seen the original series recently, my memory of it was dim, but this movie was great. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway were excellent, and the ticket was money well spent. I'd go see it again in a heartbeat. It's very well done and a rare example of a movie these days that actually has bits intended for the more intelligent among the audience instead of being completely dumbed down.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

"some of the chase sequences are among the most elaborate you can imagine"

That's all Ebert can say? I half expect him to say, "Hyuk hyuk, yuuup, that got blowed up real good, hyuk hyuk."

[SlappHappy]

This horrid flick is lucky that Mike Myers' truly execrable The Love Guru, one of the worst movies ever released, came out concurrently with it. It can only benefit by comparison.

[SlappHappy]

This piece of crap movie is lucky that Mike Myers horrible anticomedy The Love Guru, one of the worst movies not just of the year, or the decade, but OF ALL TIME, came out concurrently with it. It can only benefit by the comparison.

[Agentlady007]

I'm sorry, but no one can replace Don Adams.

[allaheadfull]

Exactly! Maxwell Smart was part of our 60s culture and we loved him. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry fashioned a show for Don Adams that captured his unique brand of humor but Max died when Don Adams died.
Apparently some of the younger generation think we are being negative for being resentful of soulless movie moguls throwing money around to make a quick profit off an old television show. Tough! Some of us loved the old Max and I, for one, won't shut up so they can Kiss My Grits.

[Agentlady007]

DIDN'T HE JUST DIE A FEW MONTHS AGO? I hate Hollywood. It's hollow,...

[richardgordon]

The dumbest thing about the New Get Smart movie is going up against the original cast of characters.

[TurgidCaterwauling]

DVD rental along with Love Guru when there is nothing left to rent. I do like Carell. Too bad he wasn't chosen to play Clouseau instead of Steve Martin. Now there's a franchise horribly gone wrong.

[peacekitten]

believe me, these two pictures couldn't be further apart in just about every way. remakes of the pink panther films were a mistake of epic proportions, but this updated version of get smart plays well as long as you aren't expecting to see don adams and barbara feldon.

considering seeing it for what it is, and i think you will enjoy it.

[Kire]

The negativity in this post pisses me off. I just watched the movie tonight. I was surprised, but it's reallywonderful, so I wrote a long rant for about 1000 words. HuffPo will only let me post 250 words, so I posted it on the imdb page. Here's the link. I hope it works.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425061/board/post/tt0425061

[newunderground]

I liked it too. Maybe not true to the original (Max was too smart in the movie) But 99 was great (always is). It was funny. It wasn't sposed to be Citizen Kane, just a dumb summer movie. With that in mind I highly reccomend. Who wants to see a Beverly Hillbillies remake, only Black, with Morgan Freeman as Jed? Write your congressman.

[Kire]

The proper link is http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425061/board/thread/109542545

sorry

[BicycleRepairman]

I read your post on the IMDB and you mention, "stunts (blowing up buildings, planes chasing cars, people getting kicked in the face)" That is precisely what the original Get Smart was NOT about. The original series was a gentle little show which focused on bumbling characters and running gags. It was very much a product of it's time.
You state that you never saw the original series.I suggest that you try to view some episodes. It might give you perspective which you lack by only seeing the remake.
Some of us stick-in-the-mud old timers consider remakes of these old shows a travesty and by in large they are.Witness The Avengers motion picture! There are exceptions such as the Adams Family which worked due to people with real talent such as the late, great Raul Julia and a fine production staff but the film that you describe in your post sounds like all the other dreck that's being released these days and I won't be wasting my money on it.

[booksnmore4you]

It was pretty good. Saw it tonight.

[BongHitsForJesus]

Now you people stop being so hard on Steve Carell. Personally, I find him a useful alternative to Ambien without the side effects of sleepwalking.

[SouthJerseySteve]

You'd think he'd learn from the Bruce Almighty sequel.

[Old Writer]

As one of the writers of the original "Get Smart" TV series, I was dismayed by the review of the new "Get Smart" movie. I never understood why remakes don"t consult the writers of the original. Maybe it"s a kind of immature tantrum, "I want to do it myself, mom." That said, for the writers of the next remake, here"s a bit of advice: The essence, the fun of Don Adams" character was his child-like confidence presaging the inevitable blunder. "Sorry about that." (Not unlike the character often played by Bob Hope.) Any writer charged with vetting agent 86 should start by studying the origin of the character, Don"s nightclub routines. His defense attorney bit: "Look at those trim ankles, the well turned calf. Are those the legs of a homicidal maniac?"
HowToWriteComedy.com

[Stayalert]

ALong with the simplicity of the humor and gags which were hysterical at all times, the current characters simply didn't have the deadpan-esque of Barbara Feldon's look. Etc.

[peacekitten]

people going into this one with preconceived notions and expecting the original series won't find it. going into anything with preconceived notions of what you want to see is always dangerous, because each person carries with them a different vision.

i remember seeing the original in reruns when i was a kid, and it was one of my favorite shows. i also enjoyed the movie immensely, in no small part because it *wasn't* trying too hard to be the original. don adams, sadly is dead, but even if he weren't, he would have been way too old to reprise his original character, as would barbara feldon. i felt the film kept the general flavor of the original, but updated it nicely. the quality of the production is also first rate.

obviously, i don't know as much about it as you, but nevertheless, i enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to anyone to see. it has a broad appeal that i think ultimately will see it do very well.

[allaheadfull]

So the production company has made a film that is not like the original series but seeks to profit from the nostalgia of those who loved the original while appealing to the crowd that must have their car chases and explosions. Is that about it?
Frankly, I find that approach disingenuous and I hope the studio and investors fall flat on their collective asses.

[DebraCraig]

Yes, why don't they consult writers like you who penned the original? I don't get it. I was a huge fan of the series and after reading the reviews of this movie, I would never spend $$ to see it. I respect Steve Carell's "talent" but to me there will only be one Maxwell Smart and that was Don Adams. As for Agent 99, Barbara Feldon is it.

Without consulting the people who made the magic happen on television, then this remake should have been left in the trash can of some producer's office.

[newunderground]

Anne Hathaway was Awesome as 99.

[Kire]

Most of the reviews, like the ones in this blog, are hogwash.

I think you'll like this movie.

[trance]

How can Hollywood produce a remake these days without Will Smith?
I thought that was the law.

[Agentlady007]

-(When I snap my fingers three times you are going to wake up.)

[BassMent]

'Get Smart' was my favorite TV show as a kid. The writing by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry was the perfect balance of bad puns, goofy pop culture references and recurring inside jokes, with a healthy dose of slapstick thrown in for good measure. Every time I think of Don Adams getting challenged in one of his ridiculous claims by Zigfried or whomever and falling into that "Would you believe...?" construction, it makes me giggle. And then of course there was Barbara Feldon, on whom I had a HUGE crush.

I can see Alan Arkin standing in for Edward Platt. But Steve Carrell for Don Adams? And lord help us, Anne Hathaway for Barbara Feldon? And without the writing of Brooks and Henry to move it along?

Meh. The boxed set of the first TV season (1965) is FINALLY coming out in August. I think I'll save my pennies for that....

[Kire]

Anne Hathaway is much better here than in anything else I've seen her in.