Get Smart (2008)

In Get Smart, Steve Carell (as Maxwell Smart and, later, Agent 86) and Anne Hathaway (as Agent 99) make a fine update and tribute to the original TV series starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, except with Steve Carell and his chief, Alan Arkin, the drollery is less tongue-in-cheek and even drier. I like how CONTROL respects Max's tech skills, relying on his always-on-the-dime analyses of global hot spots (even though no one actually reads his reports -- this is supposed to be the real world after all). Max and his junior techs -- gnomish but ubergeeky -- maintain the lifeblood of a modern spy apparatus: technology and information flow. Even so, Max continues to pursue his dream of becoming a field agent. He gets a mission and is partnered with the more competent (and coolly alluring) Agent 99. Anne Hathaway one-ups Barbara Feldon's '60s mod look in a black fall wig, lashes, and black gown -- plus she's field-smart and wickedly kick-butt -- yet for all his klutziness, Max gets a few maneuvers right. (Never fear, he does get occasion to say "Missed it by that much.") A couple of the TV series' tech toys come into the story, in tongue-in-cheek and essential ways. Get Smart is a hoot for old fans and comedically stands on its own for whose born after the '60s. With an extra half-star for the script's sweet comedy and nostalgic euphoria, 4.5 stars. (8-18-08 updated 12-22-08)