Surprisingly, the script and the performances of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway bring a deliciously new brand of comedy-action-drama to the movie screen. Unlike the television series, the humor is more refined, controlled, and substantively well thought out or the talent of Steve Carell is showing through. The action is more intense, the seriousness more edgy, and even the style of Steve Carell is amazing playing both straight and at the same time playing ignorant of some of the antics that occur on screen. The fusion of action and comedy as well as more drama brings a strong connection to today's contemporary youthful exhuberant sophisticated audience. This movie stands as a new benchmark for comedy for this century with more meaningful and richly and densely layered naunces enlivening future comedy-drama motion pictures. Like Alien (1979) did for science fiction, Get Smart (2008) may do the same for comedy. Not since Our Man Flint (1966) has a comedy-espionage movie made such a mark on the genre.

This movie surprised me. I went in expecting a stinker and instead it was quite entertaining.