do the folks at disney <NEG> have no common decency </NEG> ? they have resurrected yet another cartoon and turned it into a live action hodgepodge of expensive special effects , <NEG> embarrassing writing </NEG> and kid-friendly slapstick . wasn't mr . magoo enough , people ? obviously not . inspector gadget is not what i would call ideal family entertainment . younger viewers will likely be taken in by the abounding goofiness , but their adult companions <NEG> may feel a wave of nausea </NEG> sweeping over them as they attempt to endure this <NEG> appalling 80-minute exercise in glaring stupidity </NEG> . the movie is <NEG> poorly edited , grossly manipulative </NEG> , and the finished product resembles somewhat of a failed jigsaw puzzle . all the elements are there , but the manner in which director david kellogg pieces them together is <NEG> laughable and trite </NEG> . as a huge fan of the 80's animated tv show , the first thing i must express is my anger toward the treatment of the main villain . in the cartoon , dr . claw was a frightening , raspy-voiced presence who remained a total mystery to the viewer . we never saw his face ; he simply sat back in his arm-chair , watching surveillance cameras and gently stroking his loyal cat . as a child , i always imagined what dr . claw would appear as - and this curiosity kept me watching for many years . with the release of the live-action movie , the face of this once intriguing villain has been unrightfully exposed - it's . . . rupert everett ? ! only now , dr . claw is simply known as claw ( `one word , ' he explains , `like madonna' ) . he sports a shiny clamp instead of the steel glove , and <NEG> seems far less interesting </NEG> than the animated version . it helps that the dashing everett is enthusiastic , but he overplays the role entirely too far . when all is said and done , this wasn't a very wise move on the part of the screenwriters - the infamous dr . claw has been turned into a wisecracking game show host who makes cheap attempts at being suave and cool . he does still have his cat , though . in the title role , matthew broderick <NEG> looks lost </NEG> . the actor , while usually downright charming , doesn't know exactly where to take his character - a fault that again <NEG> can be blamed on the hapless writers </NEG> . broderick first plays a friendly , naive security guard named john brown , who dreams of becoming a cop and upholding the law for the good of the people . he has a mad crush on pretty scientist brenda ( joely fisher ) , who has stumbled upon a new wave of technology involving the interaction of human tissue and electronics . but one fateful night , her lab is destroyed and her experiment is stolen by a fiendish millionaire ( everett ) who wants to take over the world . john courageously pursues the limousine from the scene of the crime , but loses the chase when his vehicle bursts into flames . in a full body cast , he is chosen to be the first human prototype for brenda's work ; a revolutionary crime fighting tool with numerous fancy gadgets to dispatch bad guys . and so is born inspector gadget . <NEG> as bad as this movie is </NEG> , it does have a certain charm in isolated scenes . broderick actually fares better playing robo gadget , an evil and destructive clone that claw has set loose on the city . and there are about two or three amusing punch lines , the funniest being when robo gadget impersonates a rampaging monster with shadow puppets on a brick wall , and a japanese man flees the scene while screaming , `this is why i left tokyo ! ' <NEG> alas , the hit ratio of the ongoing gags is about 20 to 1 in favor of not even cracking a slight giggle </NEG> . there are so many <NEG> tired plot additions </NEG> . gadget's talking car ( voiced by d . l . hughley ) is the same type of character as zoot the suit from my favorite martian . both are wisecracking , non-human additions designed to coax laughter from smaller children . well , <NEG> it just doesn't work </NEG> ( in fact , zoot functioned marvelously in comparison to this ) . and don't even get me started about the villains . i didn't mind everett's performance , but his bumbling assistants will make every adult <NEG> cringe with disgust </NEG> . the characters from the cartoon have been reduced to thankless supporting roles . penny ( michelle trachtenberg ) and brain the dog now have little to do with the action , and chief quimby ( dabney coleman ) <NEG> has lost considerable appeal </NEG> in the transition of animation to live action . the special effects are everywhere , but not so annoying they will cause your eyes to peel over . <NEG> the problem here lies solely in the script </NEG> . perhaps the next time disney attempts a remake like this , they will invest more in the screenplay than the fancy-schmancy visuals . here is one critic crossing his fingers , anyway .
