Hollywood has been recycling old TV shows for the big screen for more than a decade now. Whether the studios have run out of ideas or just want to cash in on our collective nostalgia (probably both), the results have been mixed. Some movies, like The Fugitive, are actually better than the original, while cinamatic takes on Bewitched and the Beverly Hillbillies should never have been attempted in the first place.

Luckily, for those who enjoyed the Get Smart television series, which ran from 1965 to 1970 (with countless reruns), the movie version is just as entertaining. Steve Carell takes over the roll of Maxwell Smart, an analyst for the government spy agency CONTROL.

Don Adams invented the bumbling Agent 86, a fast-talking doofus who always wound up on top. Carell retains the spirit of the original character, who’s eager to leave his desk and get out into the field, like his idol, superspy Agent 23 (an amusing Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock).

He gets his chance when the evil syndicate KAOS resurfaces, threatening the balance of power in the world. Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), a field veteran who doesn’t want to be saddled with the inexperienced Smart.

It’s the chemisty and snappy banter between the two leads that makes this spy-spoof work. Hathaway and Carell have a fun time trying to outdo one another. Check out their improvisations on the DVD extra and you’ll see how two talented comedic actors can elevate even the silliest material. Agent 99, always a little smarter than Max, is jaded by her job, and it’s up to Smart to soften her heart.

Wisely, the filmmakers have retained some original gags from the show (the descending telephone booth, the cone of silence—even the shoe-phone makes a brief appearance), while adding some funny inventions of their own.

Updated, fast-paced and brimming with big and small laughs, this movie is enough for anyone to Get Smart.

By Robert Rossiello