Hathaway's 99 differs from Feldon's iteration in that she's outwardly resentful of Max's incompetence; as an experienced field agent (the writers adequately explain away the age difference with a blown cover/plastic surgery device), 99 is incensed that she's been dropped into a critical mission - the infiltration of good ol' KAOS - with such a bumbling clod. We later discover that a good portion of her anger is derived from the fear of blowing her cover again for the very same reasons, but the backstory isn't really necessary. Cliched exposition is perfectly forgivable when you've the pleasure of watching a classic beauty like Hathaway slither through one extravagant wardrobe change after another.

What's odd about Hathaway's performance is that this is the first time she's seemed remotely interested in her male costar. She devoured both Adrian Grenier and Simon Baker in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, ditto Freddie Rodriguez in HAVOC, and got nothing out of James McAvoy in the dreary BECOMING JANE. These are not unattractive or untalented men, so it's strange to see her so damn into Carell from the get (would you believe that most of her resentment of Max is feigned?). I'd chalk it up to the Seth Rogen factor (which we discussed yesterday), but this is the same actress who bolted KNOCKED UP because she couldn't generate a single spark with her would-be co-star.