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The Bond phenomenon began with Dr. No in ’62. As one Bond film was released each year over the course of the next three years, growing in popularity and profitability, it didn’t take long for imitators and spoofers to emerge. On the big screen, Dean Martin starred in four dull Matt Helm adventures from ’66 to ’69. James Coburn did a little better with two tongue-in-cheek Derek Flint adventures in ’66 and ’67. Television took note as well. One could easily argue that the very successful Mission Impossible series (’66 to ’73) was inspired by Bond. Patrick McGoohan as John Drake in Secret Agent (’64 to ’65) was a very serious and effective British spy drama, and The Prisoner (’67 and ’68) was an intriguing spinoff. The Man From Uncle (’64 to ’68) capitalized on Bond gadgetry as it fought evil and degenerated into parody.

And then there was Get Smart, a Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created spoof that ran from ’65 to ’70. Brooks is famous for satirizing one genre after another, and his take on the spy melodrama emphasized Maxwell Smart’s clumsiness, incompetence, unbelievably good luck, and remarkably silly gadgets that Q would have admired. But to bring Smart and Agent 99 into the 21st Century required some serious reimagining. Screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember ably took up the task and delivered a nicely balanced script that skillfully blended humor and action. Director Peter Segal gave his clever and bright performers enough freedom to be creative, and the result is an entertaining film that never goes over the edge of self-parody.

Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is a very smart, anal retentive, detail-obsessed analyst for CONTROL, a super-secret intelligence agency that is claimed to have been officially disbanded at the end of the cold war. He longs to become a field agent and to be admired like the superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). Alas, his analyst talents are so valued by The Chief (Alan Arkin) that even though he passed all his recent field operative tests with high marks, he’s just too valuable to pull off the keyboard.

All abruptly changes when KAOS (chaos – control – get it?), invades CONTROL headquarters and makes off with the identities of all field agents. All covers are blown, so what to do? The Chief assigns Smart, now Agent 86, to partner with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). He sends them into the field to battle the forces of KAOS led by the infamous Siegfried (Terence Stamp). In case you’re wondering, 99 had recently undergone extensive plastic surgery because her identity was compromised during a recent assignment; she’s safe to send into the field. But as an experienced field agent, she’s none too pleased with being saddled with a rookie who might put her life in jeopardy. But Smart surprises both 99 and the audience with a mix of extreme competence and remarkable bumbling. Ultimately, a nuclear threat against the city of Los Angeles and the dim President of the United States (James Caan), an undisguised spoof of Bush, has Agents 86 and 99 rushing to save the day.

Steve Carell is a wonderful choice to pick up the Smart mantle. Unlike Don Adams bumbler who was more lucky than clever, Carell’s Smart is more clever than bumbler. But he’s just clumsy enough to amuse… amuse quite a bit. Anne Hathaway steals the film, effortlessly deadpan funny. Her initial impatience with Smart and her biting sarcasm hit just the right notes. And who would have thought her to be an action star? Eventually 99 will come to admire Smart more, and the journey is a delight. Alan Arkin is also a terrific choice as The Chief, with an inherent dignity that makes his character all the funnier when he comes to grief. Expect many references to the original television series, some are gadgets, some are clever cameos, some are merely iconic lines. This may be a bit of playful fluff, but the film exceeded my expectation.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in a great looking high definition transfer compressed with the VC-1 video CODEC. Excellent small object detail, good but not demo-quality finely grained textures, outstanding color accuracy, fine shadow detail, a fine representation of dynamic range without crush on either end, and a lack of halos and artifacts make this transfer a pleasure to watch. I was impressed with Moscow’s Red Square; having not visited nor seen it conveyed in high definition before, I developed a better sense of its space and color. Also impressive are the aerial shots of the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall; having been to Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, I was impressed with how well the film captured the similar curved metallic skin of the concert hall.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

This is yet another Warner title that omits a lossless audio track. All four tracks, English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are presented in lossy Dolby Digital 5.1. The track is pleasant enough, but it underwhelms. I would have thought that this genre cries out for full immersion, and yet, the surrounds are only minimally active. The dynamic range is fine, in fact, I had to increase the gain for dialog parity with other BDs; that left more headroom for louder sound effects, like explosions and gunfire. The orchestral score by Trevor Rabin, which borrows the main theme from the television series on several occasions, is nicely conveyed, with pleasing fidelity across a broad soundstage. The musical timbre may not be as transparent as from a lossless track, but it’s still pretty good. Dialog remains distortion-free throughout, but lacks the in-the-room presence that truly impresses.

The optional subtitles are in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Smart Takes is an unusual approach to deleted scenes. Activate the feature and with automatic seamless branching, the disc will show alternate takes that were left on the cutting room floor. As if you couldn’t tell them apart, a phone booth will appear on the upper left during the supplementary scenes. There are over 45 minutes of content and they are in high definition.

The Old “I Hid It in the Movie” Trick featurette (9:05, 1.78:1, HD) is hosted by Masi Oka and Nate Torrence, who play CONTROL’s talented resident techno- nerds. They show us all the references to the television show in the movie. I had spotted only some (I didn’t watch the show when I was younger), but there are many more than I noticed. Fun.

The Right Agent for the Right Job (10:30, 1.78:1, SD) begins as the casting featurette, highlighting Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway. Carell was brought on first, but the producers had doubts that Hathaway had the gravitas and the sense of humor required for the role. We watch as she demonstrates her comedic ability during table sessions with Carell. The short then segues into reminiscences by the actors about the shoot and each other. Nicely done.

The Max in Moscow! featurette (6:20, 1.78:1, SD) takes us on location. The director explains his location scouting and what it was like organizing and shooting in Russia. After Hathaway and Carell goof on one another while standing in Red Square, they give us a better sense of what they felt while there.

The Language Lessons featurette (3:29, 1.78:1, SD) is just Carell fooling around, trying to do doubletalk that can pass for a foreign language. He tries French, German, Italian, even sign language. He’s not up there with the master of the art, Carl Reiner.

Get Smart’s Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control Sneak Peak (3:12, 1.78:1, SD) is a preview of a direct-to-video film that focuses on the creative techno-nerds, revealing what they do at headquarters while agents 86 and 99 are out in the field.

There are not one but two Gag Reels. The Vomit Reel (5:19, 1.78:1, SD) is Carell trying to get through the airsick scene in the jet fighter. He’s constantly cracking up and his laugh is very infectious. Spy Confidential: Gag Reel (5:39 1.78:1, SD) gives the whole cast a chance to blow lines and lose it. These are both lots of fun.

Warner has included a Digital Copy DVD for your portable pleasure. And a third disc is a KAOS CONTROL DVD Game. I’ve seen enough of these to know that they aren’t enough to impress a rabid gamer, are of little interest to other adults, but might appeal to children or young adolescents. Sorry, I skipped it.

The 110-minute film is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

Final Thoughts

Anne Hathaway is an unexpected delight. Steve Carell is an expected delight. Get Smart is smarter than its genesis television series. I noticed that both Buck Henry and Mel Brooks were listed as consultants in the closing credits. I can’t know how much of a contribution they made, but with production values no less impressive than many Bond films, a fine cast, and great writing, this film surprised me. With a very nice presentation and some entertaining supplements, this is an easy recommendation despite the disappointment of a lossy audio track.