The Nude Bomb (1980)

I hated this when it came out, mostly because so much of the original cast was missing. Most notably, Barbara Feldon, who didn't want to be type cast as 99 and so refused to do it. But also Ed Platt (passed away) Bernie Kopell (busy doing Love Boat) Dave Ketchum (inexplicably recast) Dick Gautier (what no Hymie!?!?) And then, in the case of Robert Karvelas, who actually returns as Larrabbee, he's grossly underused.But in this day and age of reboots, which were unheard of when this movie was originally released, it's not only not half bad, it's about 4/5 good.Well directed, with a funny fast-moving script, great costumes and sets, clever action sequences (the desk-mobile car chase and the clone fight most notably) sexy female co-stars, and a catchy theme song-- it really worked for me as a James Bond/Pink Panther parody, which is what the series was pitched as in the first place. In fact I would argue from a directorial and production value standpoint it was better than the last few Pink Panther movies. (Sorry, but for all his 60's successes, Blake Edwards really devolved into a hack director in the 70's and 80's.) It's too bad too many people, like myself at the time, were too in love with the original, or I think it would have been better received. Peter Sellers had just passed away and this would have been a good movie series to replace the void left my no more Pink Panthers.OK, OK, the Universal Studios stuff was a little too much, but it's not even an 8 minute long sequence in the film.I read somewhere that it was nominated for a Razzie as one of the worst movies of 1980. Below is a link to all the movies released that year. What an amazing year for movies!http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/year/1980 But I can find, IMHO, at least 20 movies worse than this that came out in '80. Heaven's Gate for sure, and Sellers' posthumous release The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu certainly. So I think this movie was unfairly dissed.Sadly, Don Adams (star) Clive Donner (director) Leonard Stern (writer) and Arne Sultan (writer) have all passed away. But if they still read reviews up in heaven, or if Bill Dana (writer/co-star) who is still with us ever stops by IMDb I want them all to know that this was not the "bomb" everyone thinks it is.Very funny, very well made picture, that hits more often than it misses.

What I want to know is how can a picture called the Nude Bomb could get a PG rating. Yeah, I would actually like to know this. This quote is the quote that appears at the beginning of this movie and it is the one thing that stuck in my mind when I first saw it years ago. Personally I think that the Nude Bomb is a classic for the reason of this one statement, though when we do go to watch it there are numerous other aspects with make quite classy in itself.The Nude Bomb is a movie about a secret agent named Maxwell Smart, the famous agent from the series Get Smart. Now I do not have the information as to the dates of the series, but what I do know is that what occurs in this movie comes straight from the series. We have Smart's infamous shoe phone, his quotes, his clumsiness, and his attempt to intimidate the bad guys by telling them that they are surrounded by good guys. The funny thing about Smart is that the guy is so stupid that he will never admit defeat. It is not that he is strong and confident about his strength, but rather that he believes that the most stupid of statements is liable to go his way. The bizarre thing is that they generally delay the bad guys long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Oh, and they also have the cone of silence.Kaos, the international organisation of evil has devised a bomb to turn the world nude and demand a ransom of 20 billion dollars. In fact they decide to charge the world rent. The curious thing about that is that firstly Max does not believe in the existence of a nude bomb, and secondly they seem to look on the bright side of things.I can't remember much about the series, but the only original actors are Maxwell Smart (Don Adams), Laramy, and I think Agent 13, the one that seems to hide in those ridiculous places. Agent 99 (who later becomes Max's wife) is replaced with Agent 22 and the movie develops a bit of a romantic thing there which is more of a payout to James Bond than anything else.I guess if you like Get Smart then you should like the Nude Bomb. My sister didn't like it, and she is a Get Smart fan. I haven't really watched the series for a while, but thought that this movie was great. Especially the quote at the beginning.

Ten years after the 'Get Smart!' sitcom ended, Don Adams was back as 'Maxwell Smart' a.k.a. Agent 86 of Control ( renamed P.I.T.S. ), this time on the big screen in 'The Nude Bomb'. Masked KAOS villain Sauvage ( Vittorio Gassman ) has a weapon that destroys all fabric, and plans to turn everyone in the world naked unless his demands are met. His secret headquarters is inside a hollowed-out mountain, accessible only through a giant zip. Smart is given a new team of agents to work with, one of which is the stunning Agent 36 ( Pamela Hensley, best remembered as 'Princess Ardala' from 'Buck Rogers In The 25th Century' ). Another is vanishing expert Agent 22 ( Princess Diana lookalike-Andrea Howard ).Ed Platt ( 'The Chief' ) had passed away, so Dana Elcar replaced him. Barbara Feldon declined to return as '99'. Apart from Adams, only Robert Karvelas was in the original ( as 'Larrabee' ).Bill Dana, Arne Sultan and Leonard Stern's script pokes fun at the the then recent Bond films 'Moonraker' ( most notably the sky diving opening ) and 'The Spy Who Loved Me' with its Jaws-like henchman whose artificial hand comes fitted with deadly gadgets. Sylvia Kristel ( of 'Emmanuelle' ) is given prominent billing, despite only being on screen for a few minutes. She is cast as Agent 34, whom Max encounters in Innsbruck. It is hard to recognise her with her clothes on.While it is good to have a 'Get Smart!' movie with Don Adams in the lead, Max seems strangely out of place in the disco era ( giving him profanities to say and having him leer at women was also a mistake ). The absences of '99', 'Hymie' the robot, and KAOS villain 'Siegfried' proved a handicap. Adams does not have the same chemistry with Howard as he had with Feldon. The script provides plenty of excuses for physical comedy, but is not really all that funny. The chase through the Universal Studios Tour looks like product placement.The other annoying thing is that the 'nude bomb' idea is not fully developed. It would have been amusing to see the U.S. President suddenly rendered stark naked in the middle of a major speech, for instance, but never happens ( how could they have avoided having Pamela Hensley in the buff? It would have turned this movie into a smash to rival 'Star Wars' ).There are some funny moments scattered about. When Max and 22 arrive at the villain's headquarters, the giant zip is pulled down, and he tells her to look away as "there's no telling what may come out of that thing!". When a clone of The Chief flees from Max's apartment, he gives chase using his desk ( yes, I said, desk! ). The incredible finale has Max and Sauvage battle it out with the aid of an instant cloning machine! Directed by Clive Donner, also responsible for the films 'What's New Pussycat?' and 'Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush'. 'Bomb' was not a hit and later played on television as 'The Return Of Maxwell Smart'. As spy spoofs go, it is much better than 'Johnny English' and the ultra-crude 'Austin Powers' series, despite not being generally liked by fans of the show. In 1989, a made-for-television movie - 'Get Smart Again!' - reunited Adams with Feldon and was much funnier.

Like the Austin Powers movies, "Get Smart" is a spoof of spy movies like the James Bond series, and "The Nude Bomb", made at the height of the Cold War, in the early 1980s, concerns Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, the guy with the shoe phone, pursuing the madman who has developed a bomb that, if exploded, would render everyone without clothes. This is an underrated movie and works well even with the absence of the original supporting cast from the 1960s television series. Almost, but not quite as funny as "The Naked Gun". 8/10