Get Smart Two-Disc Special Edition (Peter Segal, 2008)

Region 1 Warner (USA)
NTSC, 1.85:1 16x9 enhanced
110 minutes
Audio: DD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Comedy Optimization Mode; The Right Agent for the Right Job; Max in Moscow!; Language Lessons; Spy Confidential (Gag Reel); Spying on Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control; previews for other movies; Digital Copy

Released: 4 November 2008
slim double keepcase

Movies based on TV shows don’t always ring up big numbers at the box office despite name-brand recognition, so it’s obvious that such adaptations/re-makes are greenlighted due to the minimal amount of effort required to get a production started. After all, you don’t have to think of a fresh premise, and you don’t have to expend a lot of energy trying to get executives to “understand” your pitch. Still, I suppose anything can be “new”, especially when so much of the movie-going audience doesn’t remember shows like The Dukes of Hazzard and Get Smart.

2008’s Get Smart is not a completely successful effort, though it does have several big laughs and a winning performance by Steve Carell. Carell’s deadpan is probably the best in American comedy today, and he sells the laughs much better than his more “obvious” co-stars. (The other cast members are mostly loud and obnoxious, though the two tech geeks are pretty funny, too.) Anne Hathaway has an alluring screen presence, though I wonder why the filmmakers decided to make her character shrill and angry. Carell and Hathaway’s interactions are a big part of the movie’s appeal, especially during a passage where they sneak into a villain’s estate and dance with unlikely partners.

Alas, as is usual with big-budget Hollywood offerings, the movie descends into an orgy of rapidly-edited vehicular chases and explosions which suck all the charm out of Carell and Hathaway.

Video:
You get an excellent 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Images are sharp and clean. Sequences set in CONTROL’s high-tech offices have an appropriate high-gloss sheen. Outdoors scenes are (understandably) a little softer than ones set indoors. The CGI looks obviously fake, but Get Smart is a silly spoof anyway.

Audio:
The primary DD 5.1 English audio track is polished, loud, and efficient. You get all the deep booms that are par for the course for big-studio action movies these days, and the playful music score is as brassy as you’d expect. Be careful, though, as the explosions are really loud, so you may find yourself adjusting the volume dial quite frequently.

Extras:
--Disc 1--
Upon loading, the disc plays previews for other movies.

You can watch the movie with the “Comedy Optimization Mode”, which utilizes the DVD format’s branching capabilities to insert roughly 20 minutes of alternate takes of jokes and gags.

--Disc 2--
“The Right Agent for the Right Job” shows the behind-the-scenes training that was necessary for Steve Carell to become a super spy who stumbles from time to time.

“Max in Moscow!” takes viewers to on-location shooting in Russia.

“Language Lessons” spotlights Carell’s attempts to pretend that he is conversant in various languages.

“Spy Confidential” is a gag reel. “Spying on Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control” is an extended promo for the spin-off movie that was released on DVD and Blu-ray while the movie was still in theatres.

Finally, you can also download/transfer a Digital Copy of the movie for use in portable media players.

--Miscellaneous--
You also get a cardboard slipsleeve with a 3-D cover.