August 27, 2008
This is a rather pedestrian comedy spy thriller that is rescued from the Don't Bother category by the excellent performances of its two leads. Steve Carell is very touching as the geeky guy who longs to be a field agent; his performance owes something to Dan Aykroyd in 1987's Dragnet, but he is much more rounded, real and sympathetic. Ann Hathaway - now so beautiful that it must be hard to be in the same room with her - is simply dazzling as his reluctant partner. Dwayne Johnson chalks up another suave and sassy performance as their fellow agent - he is becoming quite an accompished comic actor. Terence Stamp is always watchable doing his understated menace as the baddy.
You will not of course see anything in this film that you haven't already seen in the much smarter and funnier Austin Powers movies, and I do wish they would refrain from putting all the best one-liners in the trailer, but it is a perfectly acceptable way of spending a rainy afternoon, and will give your laughing muscles some much-needed exercise.
You will not of course see anything in this film that you haven't already seen in the much smarter and funnier Austin Powers movies, and I do wish they would refrain from putting all the best one-liners in the trailer, but it is a perfectly acceptable way of spending a rainy afternoon, and will give your laughing muscles some much-needed exercise.