Get Smart was never a "great" show. I mean the whole idea was the campy, tongue in cheek humor, the delicious wit of Don Adams, spoofing the entire spy action James Bond Genre. I remember the original series in reruns as a kid and it was one of the TV greats!! You would never think that they could bring a cast together nearly thirty years later and still pull it off and yet that is precisely what they do!! The movie isn't good...I mean it's B Movie elongated TV Episode quality with the same quirks and tongue in cheek humor with some digs at politics and other things in a light and cheery way. The villains are really bumbling nice guys and Don Adams slips right back into the Maxwell Smart character and looks great!! True fans of the original series will find Edward Platt's Chief sadly lacking as a big part of the series was the incredible comedic timing and relationship between Max and the Chief. Still Max and 99 are in full force with some new characters and some old ones as well. It was a great film to watch before seeing the new Get Smart movie to refresh my memory to the old series. The best part about it hands down is what an amazing job the cast and film makers did bringing the series to life again.
Don Adams truly is Maxwell Smart. I think he is more of his character so it is effortless for him. He's strong on screen, funny in a very campy way and pulls it off every time. He made the series, and the film and everything else he did worthwhile just by being himself. Barbara Feldon also returns to her role as Agent 99. I must say that I thought her role was toned down a lot in this film. Her and Max still have their chemistry and she's still soft and sweet and smart but tough on the inside. I thought her and Max would spend more time teamed up in a reunion but she doesn't have that big of a role. Her and Adams have terrific chemistry even after all these years. Bernie Kopell also returns as #1 Kaos agent Conrad Siegfried and a rather silly second role as Siegfriend's twin brother. Kopell is still terrific and campy with his crazy accent (ironically he is very well known as an actor for being able to do accents.) Kopell and Adams share a distinctive talent for physical comedy and quick wit and they work great together. Richard Gautier returns in one of my favorite Get Smart roles as robot Hymie. His dry humor and the entire gag of taking things literally never gets old as bad as it is and him and Adams are also terrific together. Robert Karvelas also returns although in a small role as Larrabee. And finally David Ketchum appears as Agent 13 in his usual crazy hiding spots.
If you have never seen Get Smart the series or weren't a fan I promise that you will quite likely hate this TV rendition because it truly is for the fans. I mean it covers literally everything from the series including the many running gags as well "Missed it by that much" "Would you believe..." and so on. The special effects are mostly non existent using a floor level budget which the original series probably ran off about the same twenty years before this. Director Gary Nelson worked on the original series and I really do think that made all the difference because I just can't express how impressed I was with how much this brought me back to watching those original episodes. I score it as low as I am simply because it's very low budget, campy and not exactly top notch viewing but fans will love it and if you need a little trip down memory lane you'll want to see this one for sure as it is a great honor to the ground breaking memorable series. 6/10
Don Adams truly is Maxwell Smart. I think he is more of his character so it is effortless for him. He's strong on screen, funny in a very campy way and pulls it off every time. He made the series, and the film and everything else he did worthwhile just by being himself. Barbara Feldon also returns to her role as Agent 99. I must say that I thought her role was toned down a lot in this film. Her and Max still have their chemistry and she's still soft and sweet and smart but tough on the inside. I thought her and Max would spend more time teamed up in a reunion but she doesn't have that big of a role. Her and Adams have terrific chemistry even after all these years. Bernie Kopell also returns as #1 Kaos agent Conrad Siegfried and a rather silly second role as Siegfriend's twin brother. Kopell is still terrific and campy with his crazy accent (ironically he is very well known as an actor for being able to do accents.) Kopell and Adams share a distinctive talent for physical comedy and quick wit and they work great together. Richard Gautier returns in one of my favorite Get Smart roles as robot Hymie. His dry humor and the entire gag of taking things literally never gets old as bad as it is and him and Adams are also terrific together. Robert Karvelas also returns although in a small role as Larrabee. And finally David Ketchum appears as Agent 13 in his usual crazy hiding spots.
If you have never seen Get Smart the series or weren't a fan I promise that you will quite likely hate this TV rendition because it truly is for the fans. I mean it covers literally everything from the series including the many running gags as well "Missed it by that much" "Would you believe..." and so on. The special effects are mostly non existent using a floor level budget which the original series probably ran off about the same twenty years before this. Director Gary Nelson worked on the original series and I really do think that made all the difference because I just can't express how impressed I was with how much this brought me back to watching those original episodes. I score it as low as I am simply because it's very low budget, campy and not exactly top notch viewing but fans will love it and if you need a little trip down memory lane you'll want to see this one for sure as it is a great honor to the ground breaking memorable series. 6/10