Steve Carell is reliably funny as an accident-prone special agent in Get Smart, but he's funny on his own here - without a good script or a zingy supporting cast to help him along.
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08/22/08
Get Smart (2008)
17
%
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Reviews Counted:12
Fresh:2
Rotten:10
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: Get Smart rides Steve Carell's considerable charm for a few laughs, but in the end is a rather ordinary Summer comedy.
Theatrical Release:22-08-2008
Synopsis: Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked... [More]
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin
Director: Peter Segal
Reviews for Get Smart
1 - 12 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticThis is a spy comedy which seems entirely unaware of the new genre of Jack Bauer or Jason Bourne, and instead looks more like a Roger Moore-era 007 knockoff.
08/22/08
Top CriticFrom this distance it looks like a rejected chapter from the Naked Gun franchise, and infinitely more wooden.
08/22/08
Top CriticIf you really want to get smart, you'll avoid this tiresome time-waster like the proverbial plague.
08/22/08
Top CriticOverall this is a limp parade of recycled gags and gadgets: an action movie with no surprises and a comedy with nothing like enough laughs.
08/22/08
Top CriticDespite a plot that should be simpler, Get Smart is as big on action as it is on laughs and works because it's less a tired spoof and more a quality comedic adventure movie in its own right.
08/22/08
Top CriticAs a reworking of one of the great 1960s TV comedies, you'd think being funny would be its main goal. But you would be wrong. Very, very wrong.
10/18/08
Top CriticYou cannot expect a bunch of vacationing kids to remember, let alone revere, a cheeky little TV half hour that entertained the old folks almost a half century ago.
06/20/08
Top CriticGet Smart is made up of feeble and funny jokes, brand actors and enough special effects to give you some bang for your summertime buck.
06/20/08
Top CriticIt’s funny, exciting, preposterous, great to look at, and made with the same level of technical expertise we’d expect from a new Bond movie itself. And all of that is very nice, but nicer still is the perfect pitch of the casting.
06/20/08
Top CriticThis is a slap-dash effort whose producers threw money and stunts onscreen instead of the satirical gags and one-liners that made the old spy spoof so memorable.
06/16/08
Top CriticA lot of the comedy seems to have been lost in the translation.
06/11/08
Top Critic1 - 12 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Latest News for Get Smart
January 07, 2009:
People's Choice Awards Winners Announced
The 35th annual People's Choice Awards were handed out on January 7, 2009. A complete list of film nominees, with winners in bold, follows below. More...
November 21, 2008:
Segal to Helm Captain Marvel, Get Smart 2 for Warners 
In a move that will see him directing both "Captain Marvel" and a "Get Smart" sequel for the studio, Peter Segal has signed a three-year first-look deal with Warner Bros. More...
November 03, 2008:
RT on DVD: Get Smart, Futurama: Bender's Game and the Obama DVD Controversy
This week, pick up Steve Carell's sweetly bumbling spy antics (Get Smart), the promising new Futurama movie (Bender's Game), a few early holiday treats (Shrek the Halls, A... More...
October 31, 2008:
This retro-espionage spoof is more giggles than satirical grit, and simply lacks the comic punch and charisma, along with the pungent Cold War flavor of the times that energized the original.
More...
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