Action Spy Comedy On Max Features One Of TV’s Greatest Comedians

Get Smart is currently streaming on Max for those who haven’t seen the film, or for those simply in need of a rewatch. I personally remember enjoying the movie upon release, though I had all but forgotten about it before stumbling onto it last week while double checking to make sure David Zaslav hasn’t stripped the streaming service and sold it for scrap. Watching Get Smart with a fresh 2024 perspective, it’s easy to see why the film was such a commercial success, as it seamlessly blends comedy and thrilling action with Carell’s bumbling Maxwell Smart at the center of it all.

The film, which serves as a modern reboot of the original 1960s Get Smart television series, centers on Maxwell as he serves an American spy agency in an analyst position. When a terrorist plot reveals the identities of the entire agency’s field team, Smart is immediately promoted into an action-heavy role, partnered with Anne Hathaway’s Agent 99. Though 99 and her colleagues view Smart as an incompetent office drone, and his absent mindedness frequently causes problems for the duo, Smart proves himself to be highly effective in the field, especially as the film builds to its final climax.

Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway are joined in the cast of Get Smart by such talented performers as Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews, David Koechner, Bill Murray, and Family Guy‘s Patrick Warburton. The film was written by the screenwriting duo of Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, who would later go on to pen such films as Epic, Home, and The War With Grandpa. Peter Segal directed the film, which makes perfect sense as he has also taken on such comedic spy narratives as Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Angie Tribeca, and My Spy.

Personally, I really enjoyed Get Smart, but I can understand why critics had mixed reviews for the film upon release. Today, the spy comedy touts a paltry 51 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 67 percent audience score to match. Get Smart sort of lives in the shadow of the Naked Gun franchise and the 2003 film Johnny English starring Rowan Atkinson, but it still manages to carve out its own identity with Steve Carell’s over-the-top performance.

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Those interested in checking out Get Smart today can stream the movie on Max, so long as David Zaslav hasn’t hurled the entire library into a trash compactor by the time this writing is published. Fans of The Office will surely appreciate the film for the obvious comparisons to Michael Scott’s in-universe film Threat Level Midnight, meaning there’s plenty to enjoy, even if it’s not a 10 out of 10 experience.