by TIM ESTILOZ ★★★★☆
In a movie landscape already filled with established spy franchises by the names of Bond, Bourne and only a couple of weeks ago Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in the Mission Impossible series juggernaut; is there really room, or the audience appetite, for yet another possible spy movie franchise to succeed? Thanks to director Guy Ritchie, the answer is a guardedly optimistic yes, as the filmmaker rolls the risky dice by rebooting the popular 1960’s TV spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Most Baby Boomers have a warm nostalgic spot in their heart for the TV series, which starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as an American and a Russian working together during the height of the very real, often tense 1960’s Cold War for an international law enforcement agency. The series was a phenomenal international hit with it’s mix of James Bond-like intrigue and danger mixed with a liberal dash of tongue in cheek, but not campy, humor.
See the “behind the scenes” backstory on the Man From UNCLE TV series here:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_NHKW_2lMI MAN FROM UNCLE BACKSTORY FEATURE LINK
Ritchie wisely chooses to keep much of the elements which made the original show a hit in his big screen adaptation, most notably keeping the film’s setting in the 1960’s; as well as working to keep the unique chemistry and banter between it’s two lead characters, CIA agent Napoleon Solo ( Henry Cavill) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin ( Armie Hammer ) more or less intact.
However, in a change from the TV series; where Solo and Kuryakin were established from the first episode as loyal friends and comrades in arms as agents of U.N.C.L.E ( which stands for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement ); Ritchie makes the big screen version more of an origin story about how these two Cold War adversaries; one the suave but roguish CIA agent, the other, the troubled KGB counterpart with anger management issues, begrudgingly come to work together against the international forces of evil for the first time.
The plot is basic spy film fodder involving a former Nazi rocket scientist kidnapped by a nefarious group of international villains to build a nuclear bomb to control the world. Russia and the US realize they need to work together against this common enemy and bring their two top agents together to save the day. However, international tensions and clashing personalities make the collaboration between the two a mutually abrasive mix of oil and water.
Cavill nails the character of Solo, channeling original actor Robert Vaughn’s suave cool demeanor without veering into cheap parody. Hammer’s Kuryakin is a bit of a tougher sell, barely skirting becoming a cliche of Russian KGB rigidity; regrettably losing the easy charm that David McCallum originally brought to the role. However together, Cavill and Hammer form an increasingly enjoyable duo to watch as they gradually find common ground, respect for each other and even friendship.
The women in this film are no shrinking violets, despite it’s pre-feminist 1960’s setting. Elizabeth Debicki is effectively villainous and cunning as the beautiful and seductively evil mastermind behind the bomb plot. Swedish actress Alicia Vikander promisingly stands out as an East German auto mechanic recruited by Solo and Kuryakin to help locate her father, the missing rocket scientist.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. has slow simmer for a plot that drags at certain points, but never gets entirely boring thanks to Ritchie’s rapid-fire direction and trademark style, lavish international scenery and cinematography, plus an excellent retro music soundtrack. Like the TV series, the tone is light but never entirely loses a sense of deadly seriousness; at times jarringly so, when a psycho Nazi doctor attempts to interrogate a captured agent Solo in a scene that actually seems a tad too morbid for this film. Thankfully, director Guy Ritchie successfully manages to give the sequence a light, surprisingly humorous resolution.
Whether The Man From U.N.C.L.E. manages to transcend it’s limited TV nostalgia audience into a broader arena to become a new film franchise as it’s closing scenes seem to set up remains to be seen. One certainly hopes so, as there’s enough promise and genuine fun in this well-crafted and entertaining installment to give it a second shot to see where these characters end up as full fledged Men From U.N.C.L.E.
____________
CAPSULE REVIEWS
RICKI AND THE FLASH★★★★☆
Meryl Streep shines in this film about regret, parenting and the risks of following one’s dreams at all costs.
FANTASTIC FOUR ★☆☆☆☆
A plodding and horribly muddled storyline, boring characters and awful special effects make this a contender for among the year’s worst films.
