Get Smart

Get Smart arrives as a comedy directed by Peter Segal, and its first strength is a clear sense of purpose. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway give Get Smart a recognisable human centre before the larger mechanics take over. The central situation in Get Smart comes into focus without a long explanation: Maxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS. Across its 1h 50m running time, Peter Segal keeps Get Smart engaging in bursts but unable to maintain the same control.

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The central idea running through Get Smart concerns embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Steve Carell gives that idea a human scale, allowing Get Smart to remain accessible even when its world becomes larger. By returning to KAOS, Get Smart turns theme into a source of pressure rather than a message waiting to be delivered. The handling by Peter Segal lets Get Smart leave a little interpretive room, which gives its better scenes an afterlife.

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Visually, Get Smart is most persuasive when well judged reactions guides attention without becoming an attraction separate from the drama. Warner Bros. supports Get Smart with well judged reactions, giving individual scenes a shared design logic. The United States production character of Get Smart is clearest in its use of performer rhythm to make place feel consequential. Even during its busiest moments, Get Smart benefits from an edit and sound mix that protect the immediate emotional line.

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The plot of Get Smart is built around the uneasy relationship between Maxwell Smart and CONTROL. For Steve Carell, that relationship gives Get Smart an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Tom J. Astle lets KAOS reshape the direction of Get Smart in stages. Although the treatment of the central character could be sharper, Get Smart never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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Get Smart relies heavily on Steve Carell, and the performance responds with enough specificity to carry changes in mood. The contribution of Anne Hathaway gives Get Smart a useful counterweight instead of merely echoing the lead. Alan Arkin makes the smaller exchanges in Get Smart count, often through timing rather than emphatic dialogue. Peter Segal understands that Get Smart becomes more persuasive when the cast can imply feelings before the script names them.

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Get Smart benefits from Peter Segal being engaging in bursts but unable to maintain the same control about what each sequence needs to accomplish. Instead of making every beat equally loud, Peter Segal lets Get Smart create contrast between pressure and release. Worthwhile ideas compete with an uneven structure throughout Get Smart, with the strongest decisions feeling connected to character rather than display. It is still fair to say that Get Smart suffers because the pace alternates between hurry and drift, but the problem remains contained.

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Get Smart ends as a qualified recommendation, especially for comedy fans who respond to personality and timing. What remains from Get Smart is the relationship between Steve Carell, well judged reactions and Peter Segal's control of mood. The weakness that the pace alternates between hurry and drift narrows the impact of Get Smart without cancelling its better work. On balance, Get Smart gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.