Get Smart

First-time CONTROL agent Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) and his experienced partner Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) try to thwart the plans of KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp).

Get Smart is surprisingly good. Opting for a more deadpan humor than the gag-laden “Austin Powers” spy-spoofs, director Peter Segal’s film is an action picture first and foremost, and on that level works well, with several nice set pieces. While there are several references to the old television series, this revamp decidedly more serious.

Steve Carell is good in the titular role, but he’s overshadowed by almost all of his co-stars. Anne Hathaway is charming and, thanks to a clever bit in the script, believable as Carell’s love-interest and fellow agent, Alan Arkin gets all the best lines Carell’s boss, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson exudes more presence and charisma then all of them put together as über-agent 23. Surprisingly, it’s Terence Stamp—who seems to be reading his lines from cue cards—that’s the weak link.

The biggest problem with Get Smart (Terence Stamp’s phoned-in turn aside) is that the script doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Granted, it keeps the action and humor coming so quickly that you don’t really mind at the time, but this is one you’re better off not thinking too much about after the credits roll.