Before seeing this movie, I have to admit I was a little skeptical. Not only was I getting a little sick of Steve Carell (I know, I know, I should be shot…but seriously, how many more times can he play the role of a dim-witted, funny person?), but I had never seen an episode of the original Get Smart TV show. In any event, the movie surprised the hell out of me. Everytime I thought there would be some sort of cliché ending or predictable turn of events, the movie actually got better and stronger.

The Setup
Basically, there’s a secret government agency called “CONTROL,” whose sole purpose is to protect the world from another group, “KAOS,” and the evil they represent. Agent Smart (Carell), is a normal desk jockey who has failed the spy exam multiple times, but then gets thrown into the field with Agent 99 (Hathaway), after all the other spy’s identities have been discovered. Their mission: Stop KAOS from using nuclear bombs and killing the president.

The Spyness
What I really liked about this movie is that Agent 99 and Agent Smart actually do a good job of pretending to be spies. I was really worried that Carell would do his typical annoying stuff and get lucky by solving certain crimes (which happens occasionally in this movie), but for the most part, he’s impressive in keeping up with the well-experienced Agent 99, and sometimes even shows her a thing or two.

The Funny
Outside of the spy stuff, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this movie (and yes, I could have used LOL, but I would have punched myself in the face). From the dancing scene to the giant man to anything The Rock has to say, they did a great job of making this movie funny yet suspenseful.

The Capital One Guy and the Dude from Borat
Remember that guy from the Capital One commercials? Come on, you know, he was the one who was always with David Spade? He was also in the Enterprise Rent-a-Car commercial where he got a sweet ride for his high school reunion and girls were flocking to him because he looked like a pimp? Well yeah, he’s in this movie, and he’s awesome.

Also, do you remember the guy that Borat got into the naked wresting match with? Well he’s in here too, and he and Steve Carell share a special moment…or two.

The Hotness
Did someone forget to tell me that Anne Hathaway is pretty damn sexy? I’m blaming her agent for this one, since in the past she’s been in The Devil Wears Prada, which most men haven’t seen, and Brokeback Mountain, where she wasn’t on screen for too long. Ironically, she’s married to a guy who looks like Zach Braff and is now facing fraud charges for scamming people out of millions. So yeah, she might be single soon?

Overall
I have to say that Get Smart is the best movie of the summer so far. Carell is able to break out of his typical mold and actually comes across entertaining, funny, adventurous, and most of all, not like Michael Scott in any way. The rest of the cast does a great job of keeping the movie entertaining, and at the end you’ll find yourself hoping that there’s a sequel, which is always a nice feeling.