The problem with this film adaptation is that it doesn't stay true to its roots. It tries too hard to have it both ways, stylistically speaking--it has all the elements of a "real" spy thriller, while trying to meld the Get Smart parody ethos on top of it. It makes for a very uneasy mix that nonetheless delivers a few wonderful moments and does have two very appealing performances by leads Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Smart and 99.

You know this is not your father's Get Smart almost right off the bat when Max is shown not to be a doddering fool, as he was in the original series, but the top analyst for Control, albeit a sort of geeky one with a clumsy side. Carell is his typically likable self in this film, not trying anything near an Adams impersonation, either vocally or performance style wise. The film's Maxwell Smart is, well, smarter than the television version. Adams' take on the character was based in Smart never quite understanding what was going on as he stumbled from misadventure to misadventure. Carell instead is a well-meaning, if oafish, office stiff trying incredibly hard on his first real field mission.

Hathaway, by contrast, actually does seem to be doing a mini-Feldon in some of her vocal characteristics, and there's no doubt that her "disguise" in the big ballroom scene is based on Feldon's iconic pageboy hairdo and chic fashion sense. Hathaway delivers some nice comedy bits here and keeps up rather gamely with Carell's more off the cuff, improvisatory delivery style.

The supporting cast is uniformly enjoyable, with Heroes' Masi Oka and Nate Torrence doing great work as the real geeks of Control, in charge of creating all the gadgets that Max and 99 use. Alan Arkin does a creditable chief, but he has nowhere near the bluster that Ed Platt had on the series--but then again, with Max not being the blundering idiot here that he was on television, there's little need for that bluster. Dwayne Johnson acquits himself surprisingly well as a light comedy star in his role as Agent 23, about the closest thing Control has to James Bond. And Terence Stamp makes for a hiss-worthy villain as the KAOS bad guy. Patrick Warburton also does his best Dick Gautier impression as robot Hymie in a brief (and funny) cameo toward the end of the film; one can only imagine that Hymie will be a bigger part of a sequel, since I assume this is being thought of as a new franchise for Carell and Hathaway. Unfortunately two SNL-alum cameos by Bill Murray and Kevin Nealon are singularly unfunny.

While the film never quite finds the right balance between comedy and action, there are some good moments in each genre. Updated gags from the show, like a "new, improved" Cone of Silence, work very well. Occasionally there's even some deft verbal humor, as when the Chief berates Agent 23, consigned to a desk job after KAOS uncovers everyone's identity, for stapling the head of another agent in a fit of pique. "We don't do that kind of thing at Control, that's CIA stuff," admonishes the Chief. Some other physical humor gags, like a too-graphic episode with Max misfiring a mini-harpoon, are literally painful to watch. The slam-bang action finale also delivers the goods, if it goes on a bit too long and has one too many "oh, no!" moments for its own good.

My hunch is if you didn't grow up with Adams and Feldon and Platt, you're going to come to this repurposing of the Get Smart brand with a lot more tolerance and may therefore find it more enjoyable. For those of us who do still harbor great memories of the original series, I can only say to the makers of this version--sorry about that, you missed it by that much.

The Blu-ray

Video:
I was a bit disappointed in Get Smart's 1080p VC-1 1.85:1 transfer, especially when I noticed some very brief aliasing on a checkered suit jacket, one of the few times I've experienced anything like that in the Blu-ray world. While the image is perfectly acceptable, with good detail and fine color, it just doesn't pop the way I expect a great Blu-ray to. There is some lovely location work in Moscow where this Blu-ray finally lives up to its potential and achieves some decent dimensionality and really crisp images.

Sound:
Though there's no lossless soundtrack here, I was actually more favorably impressed by the DD 5.1 mix (also available in Spanish, Portuguese and French). There's a nice ambient sound mix throughout the feature, with suitable bombast in the action sequences (utilizing some great LFE). Directionality is superb, and dialogue is always easy to hear, even in the over the top battle moments. Subtitles are available in all the soundtrack languages.

Extras:
The Blu-ray comes in a three disc package, with one extra disc supporting the download of a digital copy, and another containing a better than average, though still kind of lame, DVD game (when will whoever makes these games figure out that the DVD medium doesn't translate well to the gamer's world, what with the pauses inherent in using a remote to navigate necessitate). On the main disc, there are some fun bonuses, the best of which is a branching extra which allows you to incorporate almost an hour of alternate/deleted scenes into the film. Other featurettes include a review of homages to the television series, a look at casting sessions, a review of the location shooting in Moscow, and a kind of gross-funny look at the vomit gag that is briefly used in a jet scene in the film. Bringing up the rear is promo piece on the straight to video "Bruce and Lloyd" (the geek characters) tie-in. The two least engaging extras are one with Carell waxing unfunnily about languages and a SOP gag reel.

Final Thoughts:
Get Smart creators Brooks and Henry are listed as consultants for this film. I have to wonder if that's a "show me the money" credit, because there's little of the patented Brooks-Henry anarchic humor at work here. If you're not familiar with the original series, chances are you'll get a passing kick out of the film version of Get Smart--it's nothing spectacular, but Carell and Hathaway are very appealing and the film never really drags. If you have fond memories of the 1960s' television version, you may be considerably less impressed. One way or the other, I recommend you Rent It first to see what your enjoyment level is before you consider purchasing it.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet