Ok, I have to admit at first I wasn't going to see it. I was afraid of how they would handle it (modern remakes of classic TV shows tend to be, well, crap). There was no WAY Steve Carell could wear Don Adam's shoe-phone and make it FIT. However I had nothing going on today, so I figured, "What the heck?"
And I have to say, I was not only very entertained, but quite impressed with the respectfulness of the update.
First, they didn't pull the tired old gag of the new cast in some way having some familial or mentor/student relationship with the original characters (I'm looking at you, Dragnet, McHale's Navy, Mission: Impossible, etc. etc. etc.) They also didn't make it a parody of itself (Addams Family, and I will never, EVER forgive the brainiacs behind The Dukes of Hazzard for what they did
). This was an homage that actually tried to stand SERIOUSLY on its own two feet.
There was plenty in this film that will be familiar to fans of the series. The most notable reference to the original series is the entrance to CONTROL's headquarters is now hidden in a museum, filled with props from the original series (the portable Cone of Silence, Max's Sunbeam Tiger, the Shoe Phone and more) while a tour guide discusses how the agency was "closed" after the Cold War. The classic "entry" scene is updated, but all the elements are in place: the stark hallway with the red stripe down the middle, the rapidly closing doors, and the sudden drop from the elevator phone-booth.
This time, Maxwell Smart (Carell) is an analyst, who's so good at his job that even though he qualifies for field work, The Chief (Alan Arkin) decides he's too valuable where he is. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Agent 23, Max's friend, is CONTROL's top agent. Also appearing is the moronically inept Larabee, (David Koechner) with cameos by Bill Murray as Agent 13 (who is as always stationed in a rather comically absurd disguise) and Patrick Warburton as the android Hymie (who is referenced early on, and appears at the end. Have to wait for a sequel to find out if he'll have all the quirks of the original character). Bernie Kopell (the original Siegfried) also makes a cameo as a random motorist.
After CONTROL is compromised, and their field agents are being assassinated, the Chief reluctantly promotes Max to the field, as the only qualified member of CONTROL whose identity is still secret. He's teamed with the veteran Agent 99, (Anne Hathaway) who is the only field operative whose cover is still secret.
This marks the biggest change in the film, as this makes for a bit of a roll reversal for Max and 99. In the series Max was clearly the more experienced agent, and 99 had a degree of hero-worship (in the update, Max humorously mentions how he's a fan of 99). 99 has little patience for the bumbling Max, but over the course of the film warms to him, and the relationship is somewhat more along the lines of the series original by the end. This 99 is more aggressive and a stronger role, however it's unlikely that modern audiences would have accepted the more submissive 99 of the original series.
There's NO replacing the voice of Don Adams, but Carell does a superb job at evoking the original Agent 86. Many of Max's famous catch-phrases make it into the movie, and here especially is where Carell just SOUNDS like Max. The character is fairly faithful to the series as well. Max is a klutz, largely oblivious, and most of the time makes it by benefit sheer dumb luck, but he also has the same rare moments of brilliance that often resolved situations in the series. Max is also an excellent shot (watch, he almost never misses) and, despite what a comical scene earlier in the file with 99 seems to indicate, superb at hand-to-hand combat (both of which characterized Max in the original series).
Terence Stamp's Siegfried is played relatively straight and sinister against Ken Davitian's Shtarker. This is a bit of a departure from the series, in which Siegfried and Max are very similar (including IQ level) and almost have a friendly rivalry, even though they're usually out to kill each other. Neither of the "main" villains get much face-time, however further development is likely in sequels.
It wouldn't be a spy movie without gadgets. The shoe phone makes a cameo, (accompanied by the expected "Are you talking into your shoe?" gag) as does an updated version of the Cone of Silence (which works just about as well as the original). Most of Max's gadgets are contained in a specially designed Swiss Army Knife, all of which fail quite comically. 99 has her own bag of tricks, which leads to a round of humorous "You don't have one of these?" one-upsmanship.
Typically of summer comedies the plot is largely there just as a lead in between gags, but is suitable of any send-up of the genre (involving nuclear weapons being stolen).
All in all, I have to say my concerns have been laid to rest. Fortunately the producers made sure to go to the source, as Mel Brooks was a consultant on the film, which may have helped them maintain enough of the feel of the original series, while still being able to make it stand on its own (a feat not generally accomplished by these updates). Some of the humor is a little more contemporary, (there's one gross-out gag, and a couple gags of a more adult type) but still sufficiently Brooksian. This is a funny, FUNNY movie, and well worth the admission. And if that doesn't convince you, maybe she will...
