Review of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) by Yorkman — 23 Dec 2015
The Man From UNCLE is an action/spy thriller starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander and is directed by Guy Ritchie.
Set in 1963 the film revolves around American spy Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and the need for him to work together with his Russian counterpart Ilya Kuriakin (Hammer), in order to uncover a nefarious plot taking place in and around Southern Italy by some ex-Nazis, using the daughter of one of them, Gaby Teller (Vikander), as a means to work their way in.
The film is well directed and acted, has some excellent set-pieces and moves along at a decent pace. The main stars are all as gorgeous as they are required to be, and it does feel like a very 'romantic' view of what the television show it's based on was about.
The film blends action and comedy well, with the on-screen chemistry between the three stars really visible, whether at the height of the action between the two male leads, or the sometimes awkward back and forth conversations between them and the female lead. It's not laugh out loud, nor is the action so spectacular you finish watching and need 10 minutes for your heart-rate to come back down.
Overall, the positives are that it's a good all round piece of cinema, and sets itself up nicely for potential sequels.
It's not all good though because, as per usual, the film uses modern day sensibilities which didn't actually exist in the period the film is actually set.
No one smokes, there's no inherent sexism or racism, every locale is portrayed as fantastically 'polished', to the point it looks almost sterile. All the cars look like they've just strayed from some retro photoshoot for expensive Italian chocolates, rather than looking like actual vehicles being used everyday...
I find these things extremely niggling, as there are films from the era... Made in the same place(s), which the film-makers could have used to get a more realistic interpretation of the environment, beyond just the clothes people wore, and the make/model of cars they drove.
This review of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) was written by Yorkman on 23 Dec 2015.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. has generally received positive reviews.
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