A friend of mine and I went to see this movie tonight. I was the one familiar with the original TV series that I used to watch regularly on Nick at Nite and thoroughly enjoyed. Thus, many of the funny jokes I was expecting such as the cone of silence and I had also informed my friend on many of them and got to sit back and relive the whole series again.
I did think Steve Carell did a good job as Maxwell Smart, but there was something missing. Maybe it’s more of a side of me that just thinks of the original Don Adams as irreplacable. Carell was able to imitate quite well a lof of the Maxisms that made Maxwell Smart who he was. It even seemed like he was doing the voice as much as possible.
And of course, there’s agent 99 who had originally been portrayed by Barbara Feldon. (And no, her real name was never given in the movie. As far as I know, on the series, it was only revealed in the first episode to be Susan and never mentioned again.) The attitude of 99 was different though as she started out rather annoyed with her new partner. Anne Hathaway who played 99 in this one though did look the part. Both styles of her hair matched the original 99. As I was telling our friend, Anne Hathaway in this one was a perfect 99. (I also mentioned her being a perfect ten. What can I say? I’m a guy and she did have my attention as soon as she showed up.)
Be warned parents. There is some language in this movie and while there are no sex scenes, there are certainly innuendos. For those of you into politics, expect to see some digs at the current administration in this one. These were the only problems that I could see in the movie. My opinion is that it was a good portrayal and tribute to the original series nevertheless.
As for a Christian message, my idea along these lines is of the unexpected Messiah type. Christianity always has the underdog coming out and being the hero. A lowly shepherd boy slays a giant and becomes the king. An old man with an old woman who both have no children becomes the father of many nations. A podunk town of Nazareth becomes the town that brings us the savior of the world.
And so it is with Maxwell Smart in this one. A geeky analytical mindset who memorizes everything he writes ends up becoming the person that stops an evil organization from pulling off a sinister plan. (Yes. I’m lacking in details for the sake of those of you who haven’t seen this yet.) This is often a comfort for those of us who have grown up in less than glamarous conditions.
My final suggestion? If you liked the Get Smart series, go see this movie. If you never saw the Get Smart series, go see it anyway. This one is a laugh and you’ll be enjoying yourself all throughout the movie. This is definitely a movie I’d like to put into my personal DVD library when it comes out on DVD. (And yeah, the job done by Anne Hathaway didn’t hurt it.)
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