The Man From U.N.C.L.E.



Another film that Walter liked more than I did was Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. I enjoyed watching the TV series when I was young (spy shows were my favourite at the time) and Gareth had enjoyed the film, so I decided to give it a try.

Henry Cavill stars as Napolean Solo, the womanizing ex-criminal super-spy sent by the Americans to stop an international criminal organization from destroying life as we knew it back in the 1960’s. Armie Hammer plays Ilya Kuryakin, the disturbed KGB agent forced to join Solo. Their only lead is Gaby, the daughter of a vanished German scientist. Gaby, played by Alicia Vikander, is working as a mechanic in East Berlin. And away we go!

The film starts well enough, impressing me with its wit, locations, cinematography and score, but it goes steadily downhill, ending with a ridiculous chase scene which disgusted me at every level (cinematography, action, sound, acting, etc.). I am not a Cavill fan and, for me, he failed to be convincing as Solo (Walter disagrees). Hammer was better but I didn’t warm to his character either. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum worked a lot better for me. Vikander was the brightest spot in the cast. 

While there were some fun moments, I was bored for much of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and have no interest in seeing it again. **+. My mug is down.

Comments

  1. I see you are goading me into action by pointing out my apparent bad taste. I will comply. First, I agree about the ridiculous chase scene at the end - it seemed like one of those films where some earlier creativity couldn't be maintained.
    The main difference, I think, was my coming in with low expectations on having anything more than lighthearted summer fun. The wit and style of the film delivered that. I find Cavill at least as annoying as you, but it seemed to fit the annoying character he was playing (one difference between us was that I have very little memory of the original Solo who may well have had more class).
    One of my favourite scenes was the male ego contest absurdly extended to pairing fashion accessories. Unfortunately it's a little hard to tell in the end whether the film was mocking the potential silliness of the male ego or paying a slightly sideways homage to it. Sounds like Guy Ritchie. So I give it a slightly better *** - a half-hearted mug up but I claim no substance in the mug.

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