Get Smart (2008)
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A bumbling analyst for a top-secret intelligence agency is promoted to field agent and must stop a nuclear terrorist attack.
The story
Maxwell Smart, an analyst for the top-secret American intelligence agency CONTROL, dreams of becoming a field agent. Although his superiors prefer his analytical skills, a terrorist attack by the organization KAOS forces a change in status. Smart is promoted to Agent 86 and paired with Agent 99, who has undergone plastic surgery to remain hidden from KAOS. Together, they must navigate a series of dangerous situations, including a high-stakes journey to Moscow, to uncover and stop a looming nuclear threat.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Maxwell Smart, an analyst for the secret agency CONTROL, is promoted to field agent after their headquarters is bombed by the terrorist group KAOS. He is paired with Agent 99, who has undergone plastic surgery to hide her identity. The pair tracks a nuclear threat to Moscow, where they navigate a bakery-fronted factory and encounter KAOS's leadership, including Siegfried and Shtarker. After a series of mishaps, including a mid-air escape and a confrontation with an assassin named Dalip, Smart is briefly branded a double agent by his own agency. He eventually reunites with his team in Los Angeles to stop a bomb at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. During the climax, it is revealed that Agent 23 is the true double agent. Smart manages to disarm the bomb just as the final note of Beethoven's 'Ode to Just' is played. The film ends with Smart being officially inducted as a spy and revealed to be in a relationship with Agent 99.
- First release year
- 2008
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Segal
- Writers
- Tom J. Astle · writer; Matt Ember · writer
- Cast and characters
- Steve Carell · Maxwell Smart; Anne Hathaway · Agent 99; Dwayne Johnson; Alan Arkin; Terence Stamp; James Caan; Bernie Kopell · Siegfried
- Genres
- spy action comedy; action adventure; adventure comedy
- Themes
- espionage; terrorism; undercover operations
- Tone and mood
- comedy; action
- Setting
- International locations including Moscow, Los Angeles, and a concert hall.
- Premise and plot tags
- spy; comedy; action; adaptation
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1965-1970 television series
- Franchise connections
- Get Smart
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, earning $230 million on an $80 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 51% · scale: percentage · review count: 223; Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 34; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was preceded by several actors in development, including Jim Carrey, Martin Lawrence, and Will Ferrell.; The film was promoted with a special flavor of Sierra Mist soft drink called 'Undercover Orange'.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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