This, largely, is due to the presence of the dynamic and hilarious Steve Carrell, who carries this movie largely on his suit-clad shoulders with a not insubstantial supporting cast for company.

Carrell, naturally, is Maxwell Smart, an analyst working for the covert government organization CONTROL. Max dreams of being a field agent like his workplace hero, the super-spy and office ladies man Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson).

Max's plans to progress into the field hit a few intra-office snags, but when a stroke of luck renders all CONTROL's other field operatives off the street and into the office, Max (newly christened Agent 86) gets his big chance.

Which doesn't meet the approval of his new partner, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), whose recent plastic surgery has left her unrecognisable to enemies. 99 is more than experienced in the field and curses Max's ineffectuality and inexperience.

But Agent 86 comes on in leaps and bounds, so much so that he and 99 find themselves in Russia on the tail of evil organization KAOS and their evil leader Siegfried (played with the emphasis on fabulously deadpan by Terence Stamp).

But when a threat to national security hits the new partners in crime-solving, will they, and the US of A, be able to survive?

Of course the success of a Get Smart sequel would hinge largely on the casting and chemistry between Agents 86 and 99, and here it's pretty damn good.

Anne Hathaway, a surprise to many in her selection for the role, is effortlessly good and this role will inch her one rung further up the Hollywood pecking order. And she's hot to boot!

Steve Carrell's delivery of gags - some clever, some corny, some physical - is done with such finesse that even when the joke is stupid you can't help but laugh. He plays Max with heart as well as hilarity, with a couple of nods to Austin Powers and James Bond along the way.

The movie's supporting cast is excellent and it's partly this rich tapestry of character actors which makes Get Smart such an enjoyable watch.

Aside from Stamp, Alan Arkin is fabulous as The Chief, while Dwayne Johnson (he who should no longer be referred to as 'The Rock') proves that he's much more than a pretty face and a hot bod.

I loved CONTROL's gadget geeks, played by Heroes' Masi Oka and Nate Torrence, and Ken Davitian (famous for his role as Borat's naked wrestling buddy in that movie) revels in his role as an evil sidekick.

This movie is certainly not a carbon copy of the snappy 60s TV series of the same name, but as far as big screen remakes go, it's not doing too badly at all. I really enjoyed it, and well worth a watch in a comfy cinema on a rainy winter's day.