You remember the shoe phone. Honestly, if you grew up anywhere near a television in the late 2000s, or just caught the reruns of the classic 60s show, the image of a bumbling but strangely capable secret agent is burned into your brain. But we need to talk about the 2008 steve carell spy movie—formally known as Get Smart—because it’s doing that weird thing where it actually gets better with age.
It's funny.
Usually, big-budget studio comedies from that era feel dated the second the credits roll. They rely on "of-the-moment" pop culture references that die in six months. Yet, here we are in 2026, and people are still scouring streaming services to find where Maxwell Smart is hiding. Maybe it’s the nostalgia for a pre-algorithm Hollywood, or maybe it’s just because Steve Carell doing a high-wire act of "confident idiot" is a specific type of magic we haven't seen much of lately.
What Most People Get Wrong About Get Smart
A lot of folks think Get Smart was just a parody. You know, like Austin Powers but with less chest hair.
That’s actually a huge misconception. While Mel Brooks and Buck Henry created the original series to spoof the James Bond craze of the 1960s, the Carell version took a slightly different path. Peter Segal, the director, basically treated it like a legitimate action movie that just happened to have a comedian as the lead. The stakes were real. People actually died. KAOS wasn't just a group of guys in turtlenecks; they were a legitimate terrorist threat involving nuclear weapons.
Carell’s Maxwell Smart isn't a total moron.
That’s the secret sauce. In the original series, Don Adams played Max as someone whose ego often blinded him to his own clumsiness. Carell plays him as an elite analyst—a guy who is actually brilliant at his desk job but lacks the "cool" factor required for the field. He yearns for it. He’s passed the field agent exam multiple times with flying colors, but his boss, the Chief (played by the legendary Alan Arkin), keeps him in the office because his reports are too valuable.
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There's something deeply relatable about a guy who is overqualified for his job but stuck in a cubicle.
The Casting Alchemy That Shouldn't Have Worked
Look at this lineup. You’ve got Steve Carell at the height of his The Office fame. You’ve got Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, fresh off The Devil Wears Prada. Then you throw in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Agent 23, back when he was still trying to prove he could actually act.
It’s a bizarre mix.
Usually, putting that many "A-listers" in a comedy results in a bloated mess where everyone is fighting for airtime. But the chemistry between Carell and Hathaway is surprisingly grounded. Hathaway doesn't play 99 as a "damsel" or even just a "love interest." She’s the straight man. She’s the one doing the actual spy work while Max is busy getting his foot stuck in a door or trying to use a blowgun that backfires.
The Supporting Players
- Alan Arkin: His dry, "I’m too old for this" energy as The Chief provides the perfect anchor.
- Dwayne Johnson: He plays Agent 23 with a slick, arrogant charm that makes his eventual twist (spoiler: he’s the mole!) actually sting a bit.
- Terry Crews and David Koechner: They’re the "B-team" agents who provide the loud, physical comedy that balances out Carell’s deadpan delivery.
- Bill Murray: Literally just a cameo as Agent 13, hiding inside a hollowed-out tree. It's five minutes of screen time, and it's gold.
Why We’re Still Waiting for Get Smart 2
It’s been nearly two decades. The movie made $230 million on an $80 million budget. In Hollywood math, that usually means a sequel is greenlit before the first one even leaves theaters.
So, what happened?
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Well, it’s complicated. For years, there were reports that a script was in the works. Steve Carell even took a crack at writing it himself at one point. But as the years ticked by, the window started to close. Hathaway won an Oscar. Carell became a dramatic heavyweight with Foxcatcher. The Rock became... well, the biggest movie star on the planet.
Basically, everyone got too expensive and too busy.
By 2019, Peter Segal admitted that the time for a direct sequel had likely passed. However, the rumors haven't died. Recent whispers in early 2026 suggest that Warner Bros. might be looking at a total reboot rather than a sequel. There have been names like John Mulaney floated around to take over the mantle of Maxwell Smart.
Is that a good idea? Kinda hard to say. Replacing Carell is a tall order because he found that specific balance between bumbling and sincere. If you go too far into the "idiot" territory, you lose the heart.
The Legacy of the Shoe Phone
If you haven't revisited the steve carell spy movie recently, you should. There’s a scene involving a dance-off that is arguably one of the best uses of Carell’s physical comedy. He’s wearing a tuxedo, he’s in a high-stakes ballroom, and he’s dancing with a very large woman to distract the villains.
It’s ridiculous. It’s also perfectly executed.
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The film managed to capture that 1960s "mod" aesthetic without feeling like a costume party. It updated the gadgets for the 2000s—digital maps and high-tech explosives—while keeping the iconic shoe phone as a relic of the past.
It reminded us that being "smart" isn't just about knowing facts; it's about how you handle yourself when everything goes sideways. Usually, for Max, that involves a lot of screaming and accidental success.
Where to Watch It Now
Currently, the movie pops up on HBO Max (Max) and occasionally Netflix depending on the month. If you’re looking for a double feature, hunt down the direct-to-video spinoff Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control. It stars Masi Oka and Nate Torrence as the tech geeks from the main film. It’s not as polished, but it captures that same goofy energy.
If you’re a fan of the genre, your next move is simple. Go back and watch the original 1965 series pilot (shot in black and white) to see how much of the DNA Carell actually kept. You’ll be surprised at how many of the "new" jokes were actually deep-cut homages to Mel Brooks' original vision. After that, keep an eye on the trades for the John Mulaney casting news—it might actually be happening this year.
Don't expect a gritty reboot. We have enough of those. We just need a guy with a shoe phone and a "missed it by that much" attitude to save the world again.