REEL CRITIC:

As innovative as the motion picture business can be, creativity and originality are often in short supply in Hollywood. On the rare occasion someone creates something truly groundbreaking, if it is profitable, the imitators come out of the woodwork.

Probably due to skyrocketing production costs, very few studios are willing to take a risk on an unknown quantity. This has led to numerous sequels, prequels, spin-offs and, perhaps most pernicious, remakes. Along this same line is Hollywood’s penchant for making films based on old television shows. I hesitate to use the term “classic,” as I don’t believe such productions as “Starsky and Hutch” or “The Dukes of Hazzard” merit the appellation.

Despite mixed results with past efforts, Warner Bros. Pictures has released “Get Smart,” based on the beloved 1960s television show of the same name. Co-created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the James Bond spoof was popular enough to run for 138 episodes over five years and starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart/Agent 86 and Barbara Feldon as Agent 99.

The big screen version is directed by Peter Segal (“The Longest Yard,” “50 First Dates” and “Anger Management”) and stars Steve Carell in the lead role with Anne Hathaway as Agent 99. As in the television series Max is working for CONTROL, a super-secret U.S. spy agency. CONTROL is still hard at work battling KAOS even though both agencies were thought to be defunct after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Max is an expert and somewhat obsessive-compulsive gatherer of intelligence, which he gleans from listening to hours of electronic “chatter.” Despite his success, Max dreams of becoming a field agent like his friend the super macho Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson). Even though Max aces the field agent test on his eighth try, The Chief (Alan Arkin) refuses to let him leave his intelligence position because he is simply too valuable.

This situation changes after KAOS infiltrates CONTROL and compromises its field agents. Max is sent to Moscow to thwart an illegal nuclear weapons plot. He is accompanied by the coldly efficient but beautiful Agent 99. At the center of the weapons plot is the infamous Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his henchman Shtarker (Ken Davitian). Max and 99 must also deal with the menacing Dalip (Dalip Singh) a seemingly unstoppable giant reminiscent of Richard Kiel, who played Jaws in some memorable James Bond films.

“Get Smart” walks a fine line between comedy and stunt-driven spy thriller. This has been disconcerting to some critics. As a comedy it can’t be compared to a film only going for laughs such as “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” and as a spy caper it can’t hold its own against the better Bond efforts. Nonetheless, “Get Smart” is entertaining in its own right and strikes a good balance between the two genres.

The success of the film is in no small part due to excellent casting. Carell plays Maxwell Smart as perhaps a bit nerdy, but certainly capable of some of the heroics demanded of him. At his core, Carell’s Agent 86 is the smartest guy in the room and this is usually what saves him. Carell has always been likable and this is his best work in a feature film since “The 40 Year Old Virgin.” Also excellent is Arkin as The Chief, an old pro inextricably entwined in espionage, The Chief is a volatile yet effective civil servant.

Hathaway has grown into the type of meaty leading role represented by Agent 99. Uniquely attractive, she is one of the few young actresses who can handle demanding comedic roles. Agent 99 would just be annoying in lesser hands.

Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as “The Rock,” is the super cool secret agent every one else at CONTROL wants to be but can’t. Although physically imposing, Johnson has toned it down since his “Scorpion King” days and can handle both the action and light comedy well.

Stamp plays the villain absolutely straight. This is far different than the apoplectic portrayal of Bernie Koppel in the television series. Koppel makes a brief cameo in the film.

“Get Smart” pays homage to the source material in a variety of ways including the use of catch phrases and the iconic shoe phone. However, since the film is still basically a spoof of James Bond and other spy movies, it can be enjoyed even if one is unaware of the television series.

Rated PG-13 for some mild rude humor, action violence and language, “Get Smart” is good family entertainment except for very young children.

Since the film is No. 1 at the box office in its first weekend in release, expect another “Get Smart” installment in the not-too-distant future.

VAN NOVACK is the assistant vice president of institutional research and assessment at Cal State Long Beach and lives in Huntington Beach with his wife, Elizabeth.