The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Delicious puns and even tastier fashions fly fast and furious in Guy Ritchie’s latest iteration of the iconic ‘60s cold war spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The movie is set, much to the relief of stalwart fans, during the show’s original era and stars Henry Cavill (best know these days as Superman in the DC movieverse) as wise-cracking American CIA agent Napoleon Solo along with his reluctant KGB counterpart Illya Kuryakin. A brooding and ultimately convincing Armie Hammer; Solo brings the charm, while Kuryakin brings the brawn.
The duo forms an unlikely alliance, with help from the daughter of a vanished German scientist (rising star Alicia Vikander) to track down a sultry billionaire (Elizabeth Debicki) and stop her from procuring some nasty nuclear weapons. As in most Ritchie films, U.N.C.L.E. bursts off the screen with plenty of verve thanks to impeccable costume design and a rousing score from Daniel Pemberton. Though some scenes overstay their welcome and not every joke hits the mark, the film moves at a mostly breezy pace with plenty of impressive action and old school espionage caper sequences.
The director himself even seems to scale back on the usual frantic manner of editing and chase scene execution. Unfortunately, the plot department comes up short with a story that feels more episodic in nature and Hugh Grant is rather criminally underused in an initially mysterious role.
In short, a closing scene that depicts the newly-formed team blatantly referencing a potential sequel induces intrigue rather than eye-rolling.
