Review by John Delia
With a good measure of supposition that most people will have been exposed to the 1960’s TV Show “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.†is a mistake on the part of the producers of this low energy spy adventure. Even though The Man from U.N.C.L.E is mainly an introduction to the characters and a set-up for future sequels, it has no charm, oomph or likable protagonists or villains. Slow and steady does not win the race in this turtle speed spooling of this James Bond style movie and falls flat. Give me a stand out thriller and a rollercoaster ride when it comes to spy action films, this one is too slow and sophisticated for my taste.
As you are put to sleep by the sounds of 60’s music in the vein of The Pink Panther and The Ipcress File, the movie introduces its two main spies; Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) an American and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) a Russian, both are the best in their field for the two countries. America itself in the midst of a cold war with Russia and the Berlin wall in Germany still holds captive many people who want to escape the tyranny of the Russian government. Since dropping the “Atomic Bomb†in WWII, most of the super powers want to get it for their arsenal.
In this episode we find Solo on assignment to intercept a computer tape with the knowledge to complete the process of making an atomic bomb. As part of his risky task Solo has to spring Gabby Teller (Alicia Vikander) from East Germany in hopes to find the tape. She is the daughter of the scientist Dr. Udo Teller (Christian Berkel) who has perfected the Atomic Bomb and has been held hostage until they get the final link to the bomb. In the meantime Kuryakin has been ordered to make sure Gabby does not escape from East Germany so the Russians can get the tape. Muddying up the water is wealthy couple Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki) a cold hearted villain and Alexander (played by race car driver Luca Calvani) who makes it very challenging for Gabby and the two secret agents.
The spy vs. spy plays out throughout the film as the duo blunder their way across Europe. Director Guy Ritchie who gave us some excellent action films like Sherlock Holmes I and II as well as the blistering crime film RocknRolla directs this revitalization of a 60’s TV hit. While the idea is actually interesting to watch, the presentation of it should have been more updated with an invigorating musical sound track and some modern tunes. The music slows the action making it unexciting, doesn’t give any suspense to what’s on the screen and actually makes it very flat. As for the comedy that’s prevalent in most of the action films we have come to love like Mission Impossible (that was a 60’s TV show) and the James Bond movies (that started in the 1960’s), here it’s lame and silly.
The cast does their best to slosh through the messy script working their characters to death trying to make originality out of hackneyed. It’s too bad that Armie Hammer ends up with another crypt crawler as he tried so hard to make The Lone Ranger a winner. But, like that cowboy movie, this spy movie just doesn’t give audiences any lasting energy to carry home with them. If antsy is really a word meaning shifting in your seat every two minutes, than his performance along with Henry Cavill’s certainly achieves it. That said, I still like the two actors and hope they get something real soon that will allow them to redeem themselves. Maybe Superman will do it for Cavill and Birth of a Nation for Hammer.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for action violence, some suggestive content, and partial nudity. The film has several languages spoken with English Subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A misfire of a legendary TV show that needed more energy. (C-)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca Calvani, Simona Caparrini, Sylvester Groth and Christian Berkel
Directed and screenplay by: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for action violence, some suggestive content, and partial nudity
Running Time: 1 hr. 46 min.
Release Date: August 14, 2014
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Release Formats: 2D, 3D, IMAX where available