ShadeGrenade 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.

idiotboy As most comments here mention, this is a film for the fans of the original series, and if that's not you, you're unlikely to enjoy this film too much. It's not bad, as a film, but as a one-off it's a bit poor.That being said, this movie was a really nice re-visit to the old gang of Control. Ed Platt's sad passing leaves him sorely missed as the Chief, in this film and the travesty of the Nude Bomb of 1980 (though it's unlikely that even he would have been able to save that one).The story picks up the lives of Maxwell Smart and Mrs Maxwell Smart, and shows that Kaos reigns still, with Siegfried and Shtarker continuing to fill the world with evilness and badness. Control has been disbanded, but the old members are needed to take on their mantle of anti-espionage agents once again! Kitted out with new gadgets and old jokes, the fun gets rolling! The jokes are often direct repeats from the series, but for the most part that just doesn't matter.This was a really sweet return to the Get Smart franchise, with the 20 missing years showing on everyone's faces but not hindering anything at all; Don Adams still taking the knocks as well as he always did, with his ever-visible stunt-double taking the longs-shots like usual ;) Fans, don't miss this movie! :D

pwoods1 Given that the premise of the film is that Smart, Agent 99 and the rest of the (still alive) rag-tag Control agents are reactivated to fight Kaos, one really has to be a fan of the original series to enjoy the movie.I can't remember how old Don Adams was when he started the series, but, make-up aside, in this production, he looks 70s-ish. Barbara Feldon still looks amazing, and Bernie Kopell as "Siegfreid" doesn't seem to have aged a bit.HOWEVER, if you're not a fan of the original series, this is not for you. There are constant references back to the series but, there are many one-liners referring to the current (at the time of release) US government.They only work as comedy/irony if applied to the Govt of the time. Nothing ages as fast as political satire - unless that satire is timeless. And this ain't. Still...Poke fun at the intelligence gathering community, because if we don't, who will?

Pedro Martin How come that a extremely good series would not have its twenty years later revival. A must for the real fan. I enjoyed it, but somehow it was like seeing a bunch of old clowns, repeating old jokes (well, I guess it was exactly that), but the jokes were not funny anymore.If you didn't like the series, this is not the movie for you. If you liked the series, as much as I did, this is a must, but don't set too high your expectations, it's a thing for remembering and enjoying.