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[Back to index of July 2008 articles] Family Films By Judy Russell Get Smart (PG-13 for rude humor, action violence and language) Get Smart is a fun movie based on the 1960s television show of the same name. Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is the head analyst for Control, a CIA-type organization, and has always wanted to be one of the cool field agents. He finally gets his chance when the spy agency’s headquarters are attacked and most of the identities of the agents are compromised. Out of necessity The Chief (Alan Arkin) is forced to promote him (since he has all the “classroom” skills needed), and he becomes Agent 86. Although he wants to partner with the smooth Agent 23 (“The Rock” Johnson) he is paired with veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). Together they figure out the terror plans of KAOS and stop its evil plots before the world suffers the consequences. There is plenty of action in this film. By accidentally hitting a release button the bungling Max falls out of an airplane without a parachute, and Agent 99 not only has to save Max but also fight off a KAOS agent in midair. A fight inside a car on train tracks – with a train coming – is also an “edge of the seat” maneuver. But there are many laughs throughout the film. The ball dance scene is classic comedy when 99 and 86 try to out dance each other; Carell and his rotund partner certainly win that one! Of course there are many funny small goofs that 86 makes – from inhaling a knockout blow dart to having serious trouble working his specially-designed Swiss Army knife. Parents are even reminded to listen to their children in a scene when Max is “flying” outside a car window; the little boy inside tries to get his mom’s attention to look but is only told how annoying he is being. The film has some violent moments and some crude sight gags (which younger audience members will miss), but children above the age of 10 will find the story entertaining and funny. Peter Segal’s direction of Tom Astle and Matt Ember’s script pays homage to the Mel Brooks and Buck Henry original series while propelling the story and gadgets into our new century. The film is like the multitude of locking doors into Control Headquarters – they are still there, just updated! The Incredible Hulk (PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content). Hold on to the arms of your chair for an amazing ride! One of Marvel Comic’s most popular characters, the Hulk, stars in an action packed film this summer. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is a scientist who was so sure of his discoveries while working on a government project that he used himself as a test subject. That didn’t work out too well for him since the high doses of gamma rays affected his body on a cellular level. Whenever his heart rate reaches a critical level, he becomes a huge, green monster/man, the Hulk, who has seemingly unlimited muscle and regenerative powers. At the beginning of the film, Banner is living the life of a fugitive in foreign lands doing low-paying, menial jobs to stay “under the radar” of those searching for him while he figures out how to undo the damage he has done to his body. There are many intense pursuits by those who are trying to capture him—lots of running over rooftops and through factories that develop into battles with the Hulk. The Hulk always wins until he meets Emil Bolnsky (Tim Roth), a soldier who volunteered to undergo a transformation of his own and who afterwards becomes The Abomination – a really mean-looking reptilian creature with bony protrusions on his spine and elbows. There is an amazing battle near the end of the movie between the Hulk and the Abomination on a rooftop in New York which has all the major characters in attendance. Although at times the film is very violent, children seem to recognize the fights involving the Hulk and the Abomination are fictional due to their non-human bodies. However they may be uncomfortable when the injections are given to the men since the hypodermic needles are very long. The acting in the film is good, but it is totally overshadowed by the powerful action and the special effects. Even with all that is going on there are some “inside smiles” for those who have followed Marvel comics and The Hulk television show. Bill Bixby, who played the Hulk on television, appears in an episode of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father on Banner’s television at the beginning of the film; Lou Ferrigno, who has also played the Hulk, appears as a security guard who is bribed with a pizza, and the end of the film includes an appearance by Robert Downey Jr., of Iron Man, who suggests forming an alliance between the super-heroes. It’s an excellent summer film for those who are a bit familiar with the story and most children. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull (PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images) Indy is back! Written by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg, the fourth and greatly awaited Indiana Jones adventure has come to the screen – this time with a crystal skull. Archaeologist Dr. Henry Walton Jones Jr., better known as Indiana Jones, or Indy, (Harrison Ford) still has his trademark fedora, bullwhip, and tireless energy as found in the first three films: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), and the Last Crusade (1989). This adventure begins when Harold Oxley (John Hurt) discovers a mysterious skull in South America which, by legend, was stolen from a City of Gold and supposedly has unimaginable power. The legend also says whomever returns the skull to the temple will control its power. Since this film is set in the mid 1950s, Soviet agents are the ones hoping to harness the forces of this paranormal article to further their goal of world domination. Indy’s job is to help Oxley and keep this power out of the hands of those who would misuse it. The film is loaded with stunts. Indiana, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen—the love interest from Raiders), and Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf—who also has a special relationship with Jones) plunge down three waterfalls in a row in a car! There is an energetic sword and fist fight in the rainforest between people who are leaping into and out of trucks as they try to push each other’s vehicles over a cliff. Mutt and Indiana also have an interesting motorcycle chase through his college and its library. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), the ice-cold, ruthless villainess, is a wonderful contrast to Jones, the swashbuckling, tongue-in-cheek quipping hero. Blanchett’s scenes at the huge warehouse in Area 51 and inside the ancient pyramid/dimensional portal are stunning. [Back to index of July 2008 articles]
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