Based on the iconic 1960’s television series, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the new 2008 big-screen incarnation of the show smartly goes its own way, faithful in spirit, but charting a new course for Maxwell Smart and company. With Steve Carell in the lead, this Max is a likeable, reliable paper-pushing analyst for spy agency CONTROL, who dreams of one day becoming a top agent out in the field himself. When CONTROL headquarters is attacked and nearly all the other agents’ identities are compromised, he gets his chance. The Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to bench his number one, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson), in favour of Max, now Agent 86. Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway)--a far more competent and experienced agent -- in order to thwart the terrorist plans of KAOS, lead by Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his right-hand man Shtarker (Ken Davitian). This is a full-out action comedy with emphasis on action. The actors make all the derring-do and wild on-screen antics totally believable. There is no question that and Maxwell Smart are interchangeable. It’s almost impossible to imagine another actor in the role, which is why Steve Carell has made all the right choices, choosing to take his Max in a different direction. This is no imitation at all, but a fully fleshed out bumbling guy with dreams of his own. Carell is very funny trying to deal with gadgets out of his control -- using code language, getting his signals mixed up and trying to be a decent partner for the much smarter 99. Hathaway gets to act tough for the first time in her career and makes this 99 a bright woman who is obviously light years ahead of all her male colleagues. Both stars skilfully handle the considerable physical humour required here. The screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember catches the flavour of the old TV series, retaining much of what we loved--including Smart’s famous catch-phrases (“Missed it by THAT much!)--but craftily updating it for today’s more sophisticated movie-goers.
