Maxwell Smart, an analyst for CONTROL, a top secret American intelligence agency, yearns to become a
field agent, but is blocked by the Chief, who values his analytical skills. After their headquarters is bombed by the
terrorist organization KAOS, who also obtain the identities of CONTROL's agents, Smart is promoted to Agent 86 and is paired with Agent 99, who is unknown to KAOS after undergoing plastic surgery and doubts his competence. Max traces the suspects to
Moscow, but while on a commercial flight going there, he is arrested by the Air Marshal after he mistakes his attempts to clean his shoe for a bomb attempt. Detained in the bathroom, he manages to break his ties with a specialized
Swiss Army knife containing a mini-crossbow. However, one of the darts hits the "eject" button, sending Max plummeting to earth. Agent 99 jumps after him with a parachute and retrieves him, but is followed by a KAOS assassin, whom she distracts with a kiss, enabling her to activate the parachute while the assassin crashes into a barn. Arriving at KAOS' chief bomb-maker Ladislas Krstic's mansion during a party, Max and 99 infiltrate his office and trace nuclear material to a KAOS nuclear weapons factory disguised as a bakery in Moscow. They are caught by Krstic and his men, but manage to eliminate them before escaping. At the bakery, Max meets with KAOS boss Siegfried and his second-in-command, Shtarker, both of whom expose him and 99. Smart manages to escape and destroys the factory, but he and Agent 99 are confronted by the assassin from the plane. Smart recognizes him as Dalip from his research and counsels him on his failing marriage, prompting Dalip to let them go. Agent 23 is sent to observe the factory cleanup, but fails to find evidence as KAOS had snuck the weapons out beforehand. As Max was alone during his key discoveries, CONTROL believes he is a
double agent. Agent 99, who has developed feelings for Max, takes him into custody, just when he suspects that she is the double agent. Siegfried reveals to Shtarker that he plans to detonate a nuclear bomb in
Los Angeles while the
President of the United States is there. Siegfried contacts the U.S. government and threatens to release nuclear weapon detonator codes to hostile countries unless given $200 billion. However, he is ignored by everyone except the Chief. Detained in a CONTROL holding cell, Max receives a coded warning from Dalip via
American Top 40, alerting him to Siegfried's plan. He escapes and arrives in Los Angeles to reunite with the Chief and Agents 99 and 23, convincing them he is not the double agent. As the President arrives at the
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Siegfried, Shtarker and Dalip plant the bomb there. Agent 23 is revealed to be the real double agent after Max's
Geiger counter–equipped watch picks up traces of radiation on him. Agent 23 takes 99 hostage and flees. After a chase, Max rescues her, but in the struggle, the car is set on fire and forced onto railroad tracks. Max kisses Agent 23 to distract him. Both he and 99 are thrown off the vehicle before it collides with a freight train, killing Agent 23. Analyzing Agent 23's nuclear football, Max realizes the final note of
Beethoven's "
Ode to Joy" will trigger the bomb. Rushing to the concert hall, Max tackles the
conductor just before the final note, saving everyone. Siegfried, dismayed after realizing his plan has failed, insults Dalip's wife and is thrown off by Dalip into a river, to Shtarker's delight. Max is formally inducted as a spy and is honored at CONTROL headquarters, with Agent 99 giving him a puppy. Upon leaving, Max attempts to fix a jammed door but gets stuck between the sliding doors and shrieks in pain after being struck by a dart again. ==Cast==