Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (2008)

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Zany research and development duo Nate Torrence (as Lloyd) and Masi Oka (as Bruce) head up a hilarious "Get Smart" movie off-shoot about the "KAOS" ensuing over an invisibility cloak. Not convinced? Well... Would you believe Warner Brothers spins-off a couple of funny lines and situations leftover from their almost simultaneously released "Get Smart" movie re-make? No? Okay... How about "Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control" was accidentally green-lighted as a TV series pilot for the now defunct WB during a writer's strike? So, when the strike was over, they didn't know where to put it. Not buying it? I suggest we file this one under the "Cone of Silence" …^…^… ** Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control (7/1/08) Gil Junger ~ Nate Torrence, Masi Oka, Jayma Mays, Larry Miller

Two under-appreciated patriotic techno-weinies, including Masi Oka, that team up with the cute, but smelly, Jayma Mays to save the country is a recipe for success. Their ruthless overlord of a boss, played by comic legend Larry Miller, drains the joy from their otherwise pay-to-play careers at Control as they cope with a situation while the "real" agents 99 and 86 are out of the country on a mission. A spin off that starts with less talent than many major motion pictures successfully combines the time-tested formula of geeks-with-babes to forge an ode to the behind-the-scenes underdogs that, despite themselves, manage to save the day.

Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control is a spin off of the Get Smart movie featuring Steve Carell. The movie is based around Bruce and Lloyd (funnily enough since they are in the title) who are the two tech guys from Get Smart who came up with all the spy tools. It runs in the same time line as the Get Smart movie and has a cameo appearance by Anne Hathaway (99). It also includes Patrick Warburton (Hymie) and the receptionist (dont know her name) from the Get Smart movie. Hymie although not there for long was hilarious. There are some extremely funny parts and overall it isn't too bad but at just over 60 minutes was too short.

First let me say that everyone should see Get Smart. Both the original series because it is a stone cold classic and the new remake with Steve Carell because it really is a terrific, fun action comedy with a great cast. Sadly somehow the film makers thought it would be a good idea to take the two worst supporting characters from the film and make some sort of promotional rip off film to whet your whistle for the movie but all it does is leave a sour taste and if anyone sees this before the Get Smart remake you won't want to even bother with Get Smart and that is a disappointment in itself. The idea of making this is not bad, it's just the execution of making it. I think it's a great idea to make a little sub movie for DVD that follows up or follows during the film with some cast cameos from the film. But unfortunately they took the two worst cast members from the series. When I did the review for Get Smart I didn't even discuss the two characters that play Bruce and Lloyd because thankfully they were hardly in it and I thought they were kind of boring and had no character arc to them and were just there for the sake of being there...extras almost. But apparently someone thought different and wasted their time making this.Masi Oka is no stranger to acting. He's been on Television and film for the better part of 10 years on various shows and films and most recently found fame as everyone's favorite hero with the ironic name Hiro Nakamura on NBC's Heroes. I've always thought he's done a great job on that show and now that I've seen him in something else I pray he sticks to his day job. Oka plays Bruce, a highly intelligent tech for Control who creates an invisible cloak that everyone wants including the CIA and KAOS. He has no depth to the character at all although his character is slightly better than his sidekick/co-star. I think maybe he might have been a little better had he had a better cast around him but still the film should never have focused on him. Nate Torrence...loved him in the small role on Studio 60 (sadly canceled long before it's time) absolute disaster in this role in this film. He plays Lloyd, Bruce's supposedly intellectual equal and partner but Lloyd comes across as an utter doofus and is simply there so they can make numerous fat jokes and have the ugly dude get the hot girl. Torrence and Oka have NO chemistry together and that is really what this film should be about. Jayma Mays is the almost one redeemable performance as the lovely and quiet Nina who smells of dead flesh (she's a coroner of sorts.) Her and Oka have a little chemistry, far more than Oka and Torrence certainly. I would have rather had her in the entire film than the two of them. Marika Dominczyk is also half decent as the sexy spy who steals the cloak. She would have been good in the actual Get Smart film as opposed to wasting her in this garbage. Larry Miller's dry, comedic talent is wasted and makes him look annoying and angry in the role as Bruce and Lloyd's supervisor. The only high point in the film was a brief cameo by 99 herself Anne Hathaway (which directly tied into a scene in the actual film,) a clever little easter egg for fans. I had also hoped after the disappointing briefness of Patrick Warburton's performance as Hymie in the film that he would play a bigger role in this...which would have completely made this worthwhile but the role is even smaller. Ironically and smart on his part he is not listed in the cast for the film.This isn't really a movie at all. It's an episode of some kind...an elongated promo that doesn't promo anything really. The 'movie' clocks in at just over an hour and will leave the bitter taste of stupidity in your mouth. And it's not even the kind of stupidity you can laugh at. It's the kind of stupidity that comes with a straight to video National Lampoon's movie. They handed over the directing rights to this sub story to Gil Junger who has done plenty of Television but really nothing of substance which is again another mistake on their part. Truth be told they slapped this together to try to cash in. I don't think they even tried. So unless you're a HUGE fan of Get Smart and even then I wouldn't bother. This one is a stone cold dud to say the least. Let's pray they're not thinking TV Series. 4/10