MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (8/14/15): THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
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| "Dude ... We totally could have just gotten into a car and had leg space!" American CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and his forced-to-be-his-partner KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hamer) share a ride as they track an arms dealer in a scene from director Guy Ritchie's modern take on the TV series known as THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Credit: Daniel Smith © 2015 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Ratpac-Dune Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, Luca Calvani, Sylvester Groth, Christian Berkel and Hugh Grant
WRITER(S): Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram (screenplay); Jeff Kleeman, David C. Wilson, Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram (story); Sam Rolfe (based on the television series by)
DIRECTOR(S): Guy Ritchie
WEB SITE: http://www.manfromuncle.com/#home
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): Based on the old hit TV series of the same name, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. centers around Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), two very different men who are working on the same goal: retrieving a German scientist named Udo Teller (Christian Berkel) and a nuclear asset before it falls into the wrong hands. But since Napoleon is a CIA agent and Illya works for the KGB and their dealing with the height of the Cold War as it is 1963, each agent wants to be the one to save the day ... And possibly take out the other in the process. Realizing Udo's daughter Gabby (Alicia Vikander) is the key to finding her missing father, Napoleon and Illya are forced to team up by their respective bosses to stop the stylish, sexy and deadly duo of Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki) and her husband Alexander (Luca Calvani) – even if it means putting their vast differences aside for the time being.
So what happens when you mix egos, femme fatales, nuclear weapons and an international set of espionage, distrust and ideals into the mix ... Cue the title card!
So what happens when you mix egos, femme fatales, nuclear weapons and an international set of espionage, distrust and ideals into the mix ... Cue the title card!
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Guy Ritchie fans; Armie Hammer fans; people fascinated by old-style television shows and the cold war; those who enjoy James Bond style movies of yesteryear as opposed to today's grittier action/spy/superhero movies
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Those unfamiliar with Guy Ritchie's directorial style; audiences who don't buy into the film's heightened 1960s Cold War premise; anyone who finds the James Bond-stylings a bit tedious/repetitive/overdone; ADHD-suffering movie goers
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is one of those movies I like to call "finger films." For while it's not a bad movie, there's something that keeps it from being as good as it could be – I just can't quite put my finger on it.
The first hour of U.N.C.L.E. is a bit well, tedious as in setting up the story – these two guys don't like each other, but they gotta work together and now there's a girl involved – the pacing plods unnecessarily. (In a world where most movies now rush story and character development, U.N.C.L.E. does the reverse to give you every inkling of what each character is doing, why they are doing it and how they think at every turn.) That ends up being a bit of downer in the enjoyment of the overall finished film as the USA vs. Russia battle never feels as intense as director Guy Ritchie and company want you to feel. (In other words, you know they feel it with each other, but it does not translate to the audience.) Whereas Hammer adds nuances to his character to keep him from becoming the same stereotypical iron-jawed Russian we've seen a million times before, there is no to not at least see Cavill following the James Bond model of how to be a super spy from attire to ever-present cavalier attitude even in death defying situations. It's a performance that does the job, but it's one note and not the one you'll likely remember even though he does land a few solid punchlines.
Once you move into the second hour, however, U.N.C.L.E. gets down to its business of remembering that it has spies and nuclear baddies to play with, stepping up the pace and throwing in conflicts quickly as the film changes locations. Hugh Grant ties things together nicely once he arrives and Debicki and Vikander play opposite ends of the female spectrum with great aplomb, the former combining the style of Paris Hilton with the cunning of a Marvel villain and Vikander as an understated yet effective woman with more going on than you may initially suspect. This is when the film seems to find its footing and show a little style of its own. It's almost akin to a tale of two movies (more so a tale of two competing interests, those a study of a time period and its fashion vs. the standard trappings of a spy movie) that eventually finds a way to make both work in a fashion that is more enjoyable than it is not.
While the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement is likely sequel-worthy, whether or not it can improve its own internal conflicts before bringing Napoleon, Gabby and Illya back to the big screen remains to be seen ...
The first hour of U.N.C.L.E. is a bit well, tedious as in setting up the story – these two guys don't like each other, but they gotta work together and now there's a girl involved – the pacing plods unnecessarily. (In a world where most movies now rush story and character development, U.N.C.L.E. does the reverse to give you every inkling of what each character is doing, why they are doing it and how they think at every turn.) That ends up being a bit of downer in the enjoyment of the overall finished film as the USA vs. Russia battle never feels as intense as director Guy Ritchie and company want you to feel. (In other words, you know they feel it with each other, but it does not translate to the audience.) Whereas Hammer adds nuances to his character to keep him from becoming the same stereotypical iron-jawed Russian we've seen a million times before, there is no to not at least see Cavill following the James Bond model of how to be a super spy from attire to ever-present cavalier attitude even in death defying situations. It's a performance that does the job, but it's one note and not the one you'll likely remember even though he does land a few solid punchlines.
Once you move into the second hour, however, U.N.C.L.E. gets down to its business of remembering that it has spies and nuclear baddies to play with, stepping up the pace and throwing in conflicts quickly as the film changes locations. Hugh Grant ties things together nicely once he arrives and Debicki and Vikander play opposite ends of the female spectrum with great aplomb, the former combining the style of Paris Hilton with the cunning of a Marvel villain and Vikander as an understated yet effective woman with more going on than you may initially suspect. This is when the film seems to find its footing and show a little style of its own. It's almost akin to a tale of two movies (more so a tale of two competing interests, those a study of a time period and its fashion vs. the standard trappings of a spy movie) that eventually finds a way to make both work in a fashion that is more enjoyable than it is not.
While the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement is likely sequel-worthy, whether or not it can improve its own internal conflicts before bringing Napoleon, Gabby and Illya back to the big screen remains to be seen ...
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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