Inspecteur Gadget

This movie is actually pretty good. It was much better than what most critics said. Now that is surprising though. Why? Because this was made by Disney, a studio (to put it nicely) I am really not fond of. Matthew Broderick does a good job as the title character (really). The other actors don't play their characters as well as they could have. Moving to a more positive aspect, the special effects are another major highlight of the movie. Same for the action and fight scenes. As for the story, it's okay. The story is pretty much a prequel to the animated series, showing Inspector Gadget's origin. It's far from perfect, but keep in mind this movie is based on a Saturday morning series from the eighties and intended for the kids. Thumbs up.

I grew up watching Inspector Gadget. It was, and still is, one of my favorite cartoons, if not my absolute favorite. I learned a lot of geography and history from the spin-off Inspector Gadget's Field Trip. I wanted to slip on a banana peel and become the greatest detective ever.

But the film has ruined the reputation of the wonderful cartoon.

Matthew Broderick, an actor with potential, was definitely NOT the role for Inspector Gadget. First thing- in the film, Inspector Gadget is smart. Not so in the cartoon. In the film, Gadget solves the mystery mostly by himself. In the cartoon, it was almost always Penny, Brain, and the awesome book (I still want her book!). If Gadget solved the mystery, it was by accident. Gadget in the film seems to be a competent detective, but in the cartoon was pretty dumb, which was where the humor came from.

Another thing is that it's too much "Good Guy v. Bad Guy" in the film. It's not just meant to be a silly Saturday morning cartoon. Also, Gadget never should have a love story, but Disney Corporation is filled with idiots.

Also I miss the true gadgets that Gadget had, and especially the Gadget car. In the movie it was a chic convertible. In the cartoon it was a sedan police car and could turn into a van. It also barely had any gadgets and was mainly there to get him from place to place.

But if anything, the one thing that was terrible about the movie was that it was a feature movie. Inspector Gadget was a silly Saturday morning cartoon. The movie was too serious, too overdone, had too much of a plot and wasn't even remotely as funny.

Tip for those who haven't seen it: NEVER see it. EVER. Watch the cartoon, it's a true classic.

Film: Gadget's real name is John Brown.

Cartoon: His name really is Gadget. --- Film: Claw's real name is Sanford Scolex.

Cartoon: His name really is Claw. --- Film: Metro City is in the USA.

Cartoon: Metro City is in Canada. --- Film: Gadget works for the local police department.

Cartoon: Gadget works for Interpol. --- Film: Gadget used to be a security guard and was injured in an explosion.

Cartoon: Gadget used to be a policeman and was injured when he slipped on a banana peel. --- Film: Claw's face is shown (and it looks nothing like the action figure).

Cartoon: Claw's face is never shown. --- Film: Claw has a mechanical claw inplace of one of his hands.

Cartoon: Claw has normal hands. --- Film: Quimby hates Gadget for no reason.

Cartoon: Quimby thinks Gadget is one of Interpol's best inspectors. --- Film: The Gadget Mobile can talk and has many gadgets.

Cartoon: The Gadget Mobile can't talk, can change from a police car to a van (and vice versa) and has only a few gadgets. --- Film: Gadget was put back together by a team of surgeons.

Cartoon: Gadget was put back together by one man; Professor Baxter. --- Film: Claw is the head of Scolex Industries.

Cartoon: Claw is the head of a criminal organization called MAD. --- Film: Claw has two minions.

Cartoon: Claw has hundreds of minions. --- Film: Gadget has 60 gadgets.

Cartoon: Gadget has 14,000 gadgets.

I don't think there has been a worse film to come around like this since Ski Patrol. I wanted to like it (Matthew Broderick is one of my favorite actors of the 90's), but he is undermined by effects (some good, some pointless) and a Rupert Everett claw man. Only one part of this film is remotely watchable, that is the end where there is a seminar for bad guys including the metal mouth from the James Bond films and Mr. T. I reccomend that part to movie buffs, but thats it. If you are really interested though, just watch the cartoon version, which is at least reccomended for kids. Among the worst of the year (unfortunately). D+

Children and adults alike are decidedly ill served by "Inspector Gadget," a frenetic but genuinely mirthless live action take on the popular Saturday morning cartoon series that mires poor Matthew Broderick in the role of a nerdish do-gooder who gets the chance to live out his heroic fantasies when he is converted into a one-man, self-contained crime fighting cybernetic arsenal.

Thanks to current state-of-the-art special effects, the filmmakers manage to effectively translate the cartoonish aspects of the original to the live action format. Despite a few glaringly bad shots utilizing rear screen projection, the visuals that help to realize the infinite gadgets at the inspector's disposal are genuinely jaw-dropping.

What the movie makers couldn't (or, at least, wouldn't) come up with is a decent script - without which all the greatest special effects in the world cannot a quality film make. Gadget is surrounded by a gallery of dull, poorly written caricatures ranging from a giddy, self-absorbed mayor, to a gruff, shortsighted chief of police, and an effete mad scientist bent on creating an army of indestructible gadget warriors, with which, of course, he (ho hum) plans to rule the world. Even the newly "hipified" gadget mobile comes across as a charmless, grating irritant as he provides a constant stream of witless one-liners as running commentary to the action.

Of the actors, Broderick and Rupert Everett cannot be faulted since both provide a degree of enthusiasm wholly unwarranted by the inferior screenplay with which they are saddled. For a perfect marriage of sophisticated writing and unsurpassable special effects, check out "Toy Story 2." And see what "Inspector Gadget" might indeed have been.