With Hollywood producers running out of ideas for comic relief, it was only a matter of time before they attempted an adaptation of a TV comedy classic for the big screen.

Get Smart was a brilliant TV series from the late 1960s created by comedy geniuses Mel Brooks and Buck Henry as a spoof of the early James Bond films.

Starring Don Adams as the bumbling Agent 86 (or Maxwell Smart) in a secret US spy agency, reruns of the series are still extremely funny almost 30 years after their original screening.

So transferring this successful TV spy parody to the big screen was always going to be a monster task.

The 2008 version of Get Smart follows the same themes of the TV series with Control agent Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) sent on another mission by The Chief (Alan Arkin) to thwart the latest plot for world domination by their evil nemesis KAOS.

Along with stunning sidekick Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), Max heads to Russia to foil the latest wicked KAOS plan headed by their archenemy Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick Shtarker (Kenneth Davitian).

The intrepid duo not only uncover a secret nuclear plant in Moscow, they discover Siegfried’s plans to use these weapons to assassinate the US president and ultimately destroy America.

It then becomes a race against time for Max and 99 to save the US president and the world with the help of the trusty Chief and ultra-cool Control Agent 23 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).

As a huge fan of the TV series I was eager to see what director Peter Segal (Nutty Professor II, Anger Management and 50 First Dates) and his crew were able to produce.

And they got the first part right, assembling a first-class cast.

Steve Carell manages some decent laughs, with his appearance and delivery of some of those famous Maxwell Smart one-liners almost matching anything Don Adams achieved.

Anne Hathaway was a superb choice for the beautiful, smart Agent 99 and The Rock continues to show his comic wares, this time as Control’s rock star agent.

Bill Murray even makes another one of his quality cameos, this time as Agent 13 who is positioned in a tree trunk outside Control headquarters.

But there are quite a few large flaws in this film that detract from these performances and ultimately make it mostly unenjoyable to watch.

There’s hardly any story development in Get Smart 2008 which makes it very frustrating to watch in parts and sometimes to even understand.

Yes it’s supposed to be a light-hearted comedy with the actors and nostalgia being the major drawcards.

But the writers could have spent some time creating a story which was a little more interesting or semi-relevant.

The major problem is the writers/producers based the story around the Cold War which is just a tad outdated in the modern era.

They just skimmed over a lot of important details.

Plus they glossed over what was a pretty lame old script devoid of any major belly laughs and packed it with too many run-of-the-mill action sequences.

It’s almost more of an action film than a comedy which is disappointing because you feel Steve Carell could have been much funnier given the right screenplay.

It was intriguing reading the credits of the film and seeing original creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry were listed as "consultants" for the film.

It would be interesting to know what their thoughts are of Get Smart 2008.

For me, one of Max’s famous catch phrases "missed it by that much" rings true somewhat.

It’s just "that much" is quite a long way in this instance.

Rating * *

– Vaughan Mayberry

Get Smart is rated PG and is currently screening at Birch Carroll & Coyle.

Share this article