So much average

As Good As It Gets

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is way a reunion movie should be done! Quick explanation of where everyone has been in the past 20 years and on with a new adventure. The plot is familiar, KAOS has a weather machine to alter the climate with a ransom demand of $250 Billion not to unleash its fury. It falls to Maxwell Smart to be reactivated stop KAOS.All of the gang is back except for Ed Platt as Chief. The gags and jokes that were gems include Smart answering his shoe phone as a pallbearer,the Hall of Hush to thwarting a hit-man with remote controlled file cabinets to Hymie taking every order literally. Few of the gags and jokes fall flat, unlike nearly all comedies now as they reach . Don Adams was still spot on with the catch phrases, one liners and quite amazing with the physical comedy at age 66. Harold Gould does the villain role in his unique style and John de Lancie as Maj. Waterhouse was great. Hymie and Larrabbee were fabulous as if nothing had changed after 20 years. Agent 99 Barbara Feldon didn't miss a beat as the comic foil and looked as lovely as ever, who I had a crush on when the show was first on the air. If you're reading this Barbara, don't have anything to do for a Saturday night and like dating guys 50 years younger, (or would you believe 24 years younger?), go and contact me.The movie has a few minor issues, Kenneth Mars as Commander Drury doesn't pull off the exasperated Chief role as Ed Platt would had done, Bernie Koppell Siegfried's comic timing wasn't as sharp as it could had been and Don Adams looked rather ill in a few scenes. The movie should have had a laugh track and Get Smart music in keeping with the TV series.It's a real shame that this movie isn't remastered to restore the fading of VHS transfer, (Digitally touching up Don Adams, adding the laugh track & music would be a bonus.) This is an underrated gem (far better than the Steve Carrell remake) that stacks up with the best comedy movies.

The '80's saw a number of U.S. made-for-television movies reuniting the casts of old shows, including 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.', 'The Munsters', 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Wild Wild West'. Amongst these was 'Get Smart Again!' which brought back Don Adams as incompetent CONTROL secret agent 'Maxwell Smart' and Barbara Feldon as fellow agent and wife '99'. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the original was a huge hit which ran for five years.Directed by Gary Nelson ( who made the 1979 Disney sci-fi adventure 'The Black Hole' ), 'Get Smart Again!' opens in Washington where Commander Drury ( Kenneth Mars ) is wondering what to do about the revived threat of KAOS, who have built a weather machine with which to blackmail the world. Major Waterhouse ( John De Lancie ) suggests reactivating Max Smart. The man in question is at a funeral, as one of the pallbearers, when his old shoe/phone rings for the first time in years. While he goes off to answer it, the other pallbearers drop the coffin and it slides down a grassy knoll, eliciting a chase.Max is given the assignment of defeating the KAOS plan and sets about reuniting his crack team of agents, amongst them Hymie the robot ( Dick Gautier ), currently working as a test dummy in a driving school, and Larrabee ( Robert Karvelas ), who has a habit of popping up where you least expect him, such as in a filing cabinet and a fire hydrant.The previous attempt at reviving the Smart character was the 1980 movie 'The Nude Bomb', which strangely failed to include '99' and was not generally liked by fans. 'Again' works better because it feels like an extended episode, with the famous title sequence and theme tune back in place, and Bernie Kopell reprising his role as Nazi-like KAOS villain 'Siegfried'. Though Mel Brooks did not have a hand in the script, his zany sense of humour is very much in evidence. For instance, when Smart, Drury and Waterhouse wish to exchange secrets, they go up onto the roof of their headquarters and attempt to speak while helicopters hover overhead. Unfortunately, most of what they say is rendered inaudible by the choppers' engines and they are nearly blown off the roof by the draught caused by the blades.Later, a KAOS killer breaks into Max's house at night. Not wishing to disturb 99, Max tries to fight as quietly as possible, a process that involves him tossing cushions and shoving chairs around so that the killer will not make a sound when he falls on the floor.All of Max's catchphrases ( 'Missed it by that much!', 'Would you believe...' and 'And loving it!' ) are present and correct, as is the famous 'Cone Of Silence'. There are new gadgets too; Max wears magnetic boots which pull the villain's gun out of his hand. Then there's 'Dr.Denton's Hall Of Hush', a room in which speech is converted into words which then magically appear in mid-air. Soon there are so many floating about it becomes impossible for either Drury or Max to read them.Adams is as wonderfully deadpan as ever, spitting the absurd dialogue through clenched teeth as though he actually believed it. The chemistry between him and Feldon is nicely preserved. Max continues to call his partner '99' even though they have been married for twenty years! In a nice touch, the film is dedicated to the late Edward Platt, who played 'The Chief' in the original series.In the mid-90's, a new series was made, once again starring Adams and Feldon, but focusing on the exploits of their equally incompetent son, played by the unfortunately-named Andy Dick. It lasted only seven episodes. In 2008, the inevitable 'Get Smart' movie was released, starring Steve Carell as 'Max'. I have not seen it, so won't comment.Though made on a typical television budget, 'Again!' manages to be a lot more amusing and inventive than Mike Myers' overrated 'Austin Powers' movies.

'The Nude Bomb' might be the worst TV reunion movie ever, and 'Get Smart, Again!' might be the best.'Get Smart, Again!' is genuinely funny, and has a storyline that actually works on its own. The writers, director, and producer of 'Get Smart, Again!' realized they had to create a funny, well-written script before filming ever started -- and they did.Too many reunion movies assume that nostalgia for the old show will be enough to satisfy fans. But it isn't enough. 'Get Smart, Again!' is as well-written as many episodes of the old show. And it was great to see virtually the entire surviving cast -- Adams, Feldon, Bernie Kopell, and the actors who played Larrabee and Agent 13. Plus, the choice of Harold Gould to play the villain was inspired, since he'd played a villain in an episode of the original show.Excellent made-for-TV movie -- as I say, maybe the best TV reunion ever.

It's 1989. Kaos is back in business. Who better to stop them, than Maxwell Smart, Agent 86. It's been 20 Years since Control was in business fighting Kaos. Max has been called back to active duty in this hilarious reunion movie of the hit TV show Get Smart. Max (Don Adams) has reactivated his team from Control, which includes his still beautiful wife Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon). Also returning is Robert Karvalas as Larrabee, Dick Gautier as Hymie, and Dave Ketchum as Agent 13. Kaos plans to take over the world with a weather machine. Bernie Kopell returns as Siegfried with his companion Shtarker (King Moody) as they lead Kaos in their plan. Though a lot of the old jokes are re-used, you will still find this movie funny. It's the series all over again and it shows that Get Smart has not lost its touch after 20 years. It is still as popular as ever. Do not skip this movie. A+++++