Inspector Gadget (1999)

★ 4.5 1h 18m 1,306 votes IMDb

John Brown is a bumbling but well-intentioned security guard who is badly injured in an explosion planned by an evil mastermind. He is taken to a laboratory, where Brenda, a leading robotics surgeon, replaces his damaged limbs with state-of-the-art gadgets and tools. Named "Inspector Gadget" by the press, John -- along with his niece, Penny, and her trusty dog, Brain -- uses his new powers to discover who was behind the explosion.

Inspector Gadget

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Cast

Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick as John Brown / Inspector Gadget / Robo Gadget Age 64 · New York City, New York, USA Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American stage and screen actor. Broderick began acting in off-Broadway productions in the early 1980s, soon after landing a role in Neil Simon's Brighton...
Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett as Sanford Scolex / Dr. Claw Age 66 · Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk, England, UK Rupert James Hector Everett (born May 29, 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent fil...
Joely Fisher
Joely Fisher as Brenda / Robobrenda Age 58 · Burbank, California, U.S. Joely Fisher (born October 29, 1967) is an American actress best known for her work on television as Paige Clark on Ellen as well as Joy Stark in the Fox sitcom 'Til Death, and also on stage and in fi...
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny Died 2025 · New York City, New York, USA Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (October 11, 1985 – February 26, 2025) was an American television and film actress. She is known for her roles as Dawn Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampir...
Andy Dick
Andy Dick as Kramer Age 60 · Charleston, South Carolina, USA Andrew Roane Dick (born Andrew Thomlinson; December 21, 1965) is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational the...
Cheri Oteri
Cheri Oteri as Mayor Wilson Age 63 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Cheri Oteri (born September 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. A Primetime Emmy Award nominee, she is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Ni...

Audience Reviews

r96sk 7/10 Oct 10, 2020
Another one rated too low, I assume that is due to it - so I read - not being "faithful" to the original television series. I have never watched that so I couldn't judge it in those terms, but as a film I enjoyed it I won't lie.

<em>'Inspector Gadget'</em> is very silly but self-aware, in a similar vein to <em>'Looney Tunes: Back in Action'</em> and <em>'The Cat in the Hat'</em>. I enjoyed those two films and, while this isn't as good as those, I liked this enough. I probably wont ever rewatch, but I can see younger audiences finding enjoyment with it.

There aren't, admittedly, any super noteworthy performances here, but that's not to say Matthew Broderick & Co. are bad in this - they give what's necessary. There's a few interesting cameos in there, too.

There are a couple of fairly amusing moments, but it's the dumbness that I think they do well - it's stupid and they know it. Like those other films I mentioned earlier, you're gonna annoy a lot of people by doing that so I can see why this gets hate - I don't think 44% is fair though, but each to their own of course.
Filipe Manuel Neto 3/10 Nov 12, 2022
**A film that entertains without marveling, and that can frustrate fans of the cartoon.**

Inspector Gadget was an amazing cartoon, but it had a brief stint on Portuguese television. I remember him, and I really enjoyed seeing him, but I don't remember seeing him much longer than four or five years. Despite this, it was one of the cartoons that I was most interested in as a child. The live-action movie we have here, however, doesn't do it justice... which doesn't mean it's necessarily bad. Plain and simple, the film is what it is: a piece of entertainment full of weaknesses.

Designed to appeal to children and teenagers, I have serious doubts about the film's ability to appeal to adults, particularly fans of the original cartoon. It's not a bad movie, it's minimally funny and has some effective comic material, but most of the time it fails to make you laugh. Also, the film has bad dialogue and the script is quite poor and poorly written. So poorly written that I'm afraid of spoiling it if I say too much, so I'll limit myself to saying that the film follows the creation of Inspector Gadget and the birth of his archenemy, Claw.

The cast is one of the most redeeming qualities of this film. Even with a basic story and very weak material on hand, each actor did the best they could, and I'm pretty sure they all tried to put in the effort and be professional. However, some did better than others. Rupert Everett, for example, makes the most of his charisma and steals our attention whenever he appears, with well-placed, sarcastic humour. Matthew Broderick doesn't do poorly in this job either, but he seems to find much more difficulties with his character. Joely Fisher is attractive but has little to do. Mike Hagerty and Michelle Trachtenberg are relegated to the shadows most of the time.

Disney invested some money in the film, and it shows in the quantity and quality of the visual effects and CGI used. Gadget is very similar to the original, with the same clothes and the most striking gadgets from the cartoon, as well as the problems, confusions and breakdowns that have always characterized the character. The sets and filming locations help and do their part, as does the soundtrack, which contains a new version of the old cartoon theme song.

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