Inspector Gadget (1999)

Box Office
"...INSPECTOR GADGET keeps its animated origins well in mind....Patrons aged 10 and under should enjoy it thoroughly..." 09/01/1999 p.152

San Francisco Chronicle 8 of 10
Technology finally freaks out in the mechanical man at the heart of Inspector Gadget. He could be the poster boy for Y2K. The new live-action feature from Disney is in its own way just as much of a cartoon as Tarzan. It's almost as much of a wonder, too... The mechanical shenanigans begin with a delightful version of the Disney logo. The eponymous hero is a meek security guard with dreams of becoming a law-enforcement officer. When he is blown up and reassembled as the technological whiz Inspector Gadget, he gets his wish. He is not exactly a Man of Steel. More like his dorky cousin. In this fable, there are echoes of other comic-book heroes -- his jive-talking automobile with its cool, bouncy moves is a parody of the Batmobile, and he has a magic command like Captain Marvel's "Shazam". Other figures from our collective childhood come to mind -- most prominently the Tin Man who finds his heart. As with that character from The Wizard of Oz, it is the human element that counts. Interestingly, in the making of this film, it is the human element that counts, too. While it is a spectacle of animatronics, digital graphics and other special effects, the actors are never overwhelmed by them as personalities. Matthew Broderick as Inspector Gadget displays a right-on repertoire of physical comedy with his comic-book body language. The usually silky-toned Rupert Everett does an interesting change of pace as the campy villain Claw... The 90-minute film goes by in an eye-popping flash of quick scenes. They make their point and move on, which shouldn't be a surprise considering director David Kellogg's TV commercial expertise. Each visual punch line gets its laugh and then is immediately topped by another... Anyone who saw Broderick dance in the stage version of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying will not be surprised by his moves. Everett, who may have the most beautiful voice in movies today, here shows some of the almost whispered concentration he used as Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream but adds some unexpected squawks. He seems relieved to have a chance to camp it up. - Bob Graham
 
Orlando Weekly 7 of 10
A hero ain't nothin' but a good excuse for a villain, and Inspector Gadget has an eminently engaging one in Sanford Scolex, a handsome, wealthy psychopath determined to destroy his squeaky-clean nemesis. Rupert Everett, such a funny charmer in An Ideal Husband, is right on target as the sneering, scowling Scolex, who takes as much pleasure in creating chaos as he does in abusing scientist sidekick Kramer (a very funny Andy Dick of television's NewsRadio) and dim bodyguard Sikes (Michael G. Hagerty) or tossing off groan-worthy jokes. At one juncture, Kramer suggests that his boss' new title, "Claw"(denoting the mechanical contraption that's replaced his crushed left hand), makes a "dashing appellation." Responds Scolex: "What's that, a hillbilly with a tuxedo?" Everett arches his eyebrows, snarls and goes way over the top. And we like it. Matthew Broderick (most recently seen in the twisted satire Election) is also smartly cast as the good guy in this likable comic adventure. For Disney's pricy, live-action adaptation of the syndicated cartoon series of the same name, first-time director David Kellogg and a team of three writers have turned a vaguely European crimefighter created by a French animation company into a do-gooder out to defend truth, justice and the American way. - Philip Booth