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In the 1960s, James Bond creator Ian Fleming aided in the development of the beloved secret agent TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (see Michael’s review of the show’s first season), pairing a CIA agent with his KGB counterpart for secret Cold War-era missions. Now, director Guy Ritchie brings the action, suspicion, and cool ‘60s style of the classic series to the big screen in his fun-filled new adaptation.
Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. stars Henry Cavill as American spy Napoleon Solo, who’s sent into 1960s East Berlin to extract Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), the daughter of a missing nuclear physicist who once worked with the Nazis. Fearing that his knowledge will end up in the wrong hands, the CIA teams up with the KGB to track him down—which means that Solo will have to work with KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). Together with Gaby, they travel undercover to Rome, where a secret organization is reportedly building their own nuclear weapons.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. doesn’t have the same outrageous, back-alley grit as Ritchie’s earliest crime thrillers, but—as he did with his Sherlock Holmes films—the director once again mixes fast-paced action with stylish period touches for a Cold War caper that’s irresistibly entertaining.
Admittedly, the story isn’t exactly the highlight of the film. It’s rather weak with a tendency to ramble, tacking on one more complication, one more twist around every corner—and taunting viewers with a handful of would-be conclusions. But it’s also loaded with clever action sequences and seasoned with campy comedy. And the unlikely cohorts and their precarious partnership are so much fun to watch that you’ll happily forgive the story’s flaws.
Cavill is suave and slick as the fast-thinking CIA agent—an American take on James Bond (even though Cavill is actually British). Hammer’s gritty KGB operative, meanwhile, is the brawn to Solo’s brains, preferring to solve problems with brute strength. The two stars work well together, and their characters’ differences in background, style, and country make for an intriguing dynamic. Though they’re forced to work as a team, they still have an underlying distrust and an enduring rivalry that adds just the right amount of comic tension to the film’s action and intrigue.
With its likable pair of hard-hitting frenemies and its ‘60s spy chic, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is one cool caper. It may not be the smartest movie you’ll see this year, but it’s still a whole lot of fun.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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