(3 out of 5 stars)

Lucky for me, I have never seen the television show, which this movie is based on, so this review is based purely on the movie itself with no comparisons, and generally, it is a good movie, just nothing special.

Steve Carrell plays the hapless Maxwell Smart who passes his agent test and after all operatives become known to the public, he partners with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to fight the newest wave of crime. Carrell is funny using a straightman type of comedy although becomes too serious at times. Hathaway is perfect as the beautiful sexy skillful agent that, oh who cares, she was hot and obviously attracted the young guys to the theaters this past summer.

The movie itself has some big laughs, some unnecessary unfunny moments and some type of convoluted plot about double agents and some bad guy agency. The plot is enough to keep the movie going forward, but is nothing to write home about.

 Overall, see this movie if you have a free evening or weekend afternoon. It is not priority viewing but is suggested viewing. I’m not sure who actually “gets smart” in the movie.  Carrell is uber-intelligent and teaches his colleagues what is really going on, and no one tries to get him. Maybe the title should have been Get Me Smart.

Similar Recommended Titles: Johnny English, Austin Powers and Agent Cody Banks