'Get Smart' fails to deliver any good spy action, or real laughs

Digging deep into their vaults, Warner Brothers unearths the 1960s television spy spoof series and re-imagines it as a feature film. Cast the popular deadpan comedian Steve Carell (“Dan in Real Life”) as the title character and fill in the cast with other accomplished actors and character actors, and you’ve got a sure-fire hit. That’s what I thought as I eagerly anticipated a laugh-out-loud comedy mixed with an action-packed spy flick. The problem the writers and director crashed into is that they didn’t really have an interesting story to tell. While there are moments in the film that elicit justifiable guffaws, the story itself is more complicated than necessary, with effects and stunts that could have been directly lifted out of a cheap TV show.

Maxwell Smart is a good-natured analyst for a top secret government organization called CONTROL that supposedly closed up at the end of the Cold War. However, the agency continues to work diligently behind the scenes, dealing with terrorists, carrying out assassinations, and solving international mysteries. Smart wants more than anything else to be a field agent like his colleague, the ultra-suave Agent 23 (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), or the cool and capable Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway; “The Devil Wears Prada”). A sneak attack on the organization by KAOS, a deadly criminal organization also thought defunct, puts the somewhat clumsy Smart on the frontlines - whether he’s ready for it or not.

The villains in the film, led by Siegfried (Terence Stamp; “Elektra”) are a disheveled, unimposing lot who lack any meaningful organization. Even with a giant working for them, the villains don’t feel particularly threatening nor are they played for any real laughs. Carell is satisfactory as Smart, having a good sense for physical comedy while also coming across with some dry wit. Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) as The Chief enlivens the scenes he’s in, whether berating a subordinate for unnecessary violence or getting tough himself. Hathaway neither adds to nor particularly detracts from the movie with her presence, adequately performing the role of Smart’s competent partner.

Where the film is particularly weak is its storyline, with overused plot devices like loose nuclear material, double-agents, and a bomb planted somewhere in the city. The stunts in the film are unremarkable and at times transparently fake. There is some quick-cut, hand-held camerawork during the action sequences that hides more than it shows and becomes dizzying. It actually feels like part of the story may have been left on the editing room floor, with some scenes feeling disjointed and unfinished.

Ultimately, leaps in logic need to be made by the audience to even follow the general plot. For the comedy that does escape, the best parts have already been shown in the “Get Smart” previews. The finished product is so uneven, despite the sporadic moments of humor, that you’ll feel this spy caper should have stayed in the development phase much, much longer.

2 out of 5

Rated PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language.