Jim's "Go or Don't Go" - Get Smart

Somewhere around the age of 6 or 7, Get Smart was my favorite TV show. I would faithfully watch it in reruns back in the day when we could only get three, maybe four channels. Glligan's Island and Gomer Pyle rounded out my after-school viewing trilogy. I like to think that my taste in entertainment has become a bit more sophisticated since then.

Get Smart is the latest in a long list of remakes of classic 1960s TV hits. I guess Hollywood thinks that there is a market for bringing these shows to the big screen, even though it seems like most of them are disappointing. I reluctantly have to say that Get Smart falls into that category.

The characters have been updated and placed into the present day. This time around, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) still works for the super-secret agency, CONTROL. Unfortunately, he's only an intelligence analyst, dreaming of becoming an agent in the field. But after the agency is attacked by their arch-rival organization, KAOS, the Chief (Alan Arkin) finally gives Smart his chance. And of course, Smart get paired up with the lovely Agent 99, played by Anne Hathaway. Tha't pretty much all you need to know - I won't bore you with any more details.

Some of the spirit of the original show is there — both the good guys and bad guys are at times bumbling idiots. There are secret agent gadgets, some humorous cameos, and a few funny lines. Notice I said "a few" - that's the problem. I just didn't find this movie that funny.

On paper, I thought Carell looked like a good choice to play Maxwell Smart, but for me, he was the usual Steve Carell character. Most of the time I thought that I was watching Michael from The Office. And the classic Maxwell Smart catchphrases just seemed forced coming from him. Again, Anne Hathaway seems like a great choice, but her Agent 99 is not very likable for most of the movie. Carrie thought she was just plain mean.

There are some top-notch action scenes worthy of any spy movie, but that's not enough for me to recommend this movie. Here it comes... Missed it by that much! - I say, "Don't Go."