The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Jared Harris, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca Calvani, Sylvester Groth, Christian Berkel
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A CIA Agent (Henry Cavill) reluctantly teams with a Soviet agent (Armie Hammer) to stop a nuclear weapon from being traded on the black market.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. really didn't seem all that appealing to me. It was hard for me to get excited about a spy movie set during the Cold War, adapted from a television show from the 1960s. However, as I always do, I entered the movie with as open a mind as possible. I'd say the movie might have been slightly better than I expected, but Guy Ritchie's slick spy film ultimately is about as flawed as you might expect. This is a film that was clearly supposed to start a franchise, but I'm willing to bet will fizzle out after one film.

The whole thing just felt a bit too choreographed and slick. I get exactly what Ritchie was going for, but it felt like he pushed it a little too far. He gave up realism to be cute, and even that was pushed past the point of good taste. I know the film was also a comedy, but it just felt too polished for its own good. It was hard to take anything in the film too seriously. It eventually became almost a caricature of itself. The film was fine, but there wasn't enough grit or realism to draw the audience into the story. It's an example of a film shined up to the extreme, likely to mask the lack of depth in the story.

The cast worked hard, I give them that. However, their characters were a bit weak. I thought Henry Cavill put a lot of effort into his Napoleon Solo. The problem is that he's too cool and calm, his demeanor eventually being somewhat of a turn off. He's suave, but so suave that I never felt like I could identify with him as a human character. He feel like a typical spy, full of cliches. I didn't feel any connection with him as a character, other than being told he's the "good guy," so I'm supposed to like him. Armie Hammer worked really hard as Illya, but I didn't really like his character and wasn't given much of a reason to be invested in him. I suppose his performance worked because his Russian accent wasn't horrible, but he wasn't a character I felt anything toward. Some of the more fun moments involve the interaction between Cavill and Hammer, but the movie spent so much time on this, it almost felt like it was being crammed down our throats. The story gleefully lingered on these two- "Look how different they are! Isn't this so much fun, how we paired these two incredibly different men together, and they're forced to partner up!" This elicited a small smile and a shrug of the shoulders- none of it is nearly as interesting or funny as the movie wants it to be.

The supporting cast is good. Alicia Vikander had a few very strong moments. I laughed out loud at her weird dance scene. She's had a huge 2015 and I expect to see great things from her in the future. She's solid here. Hugh Grant was very well cast, but he didn't have a whole lot to do. I wish he was given more screen time (and undoubtedly would have, had there been a sequel). The rest of the supporting players did serviceable jobs.

It felt to me like all the emphasis in this film was on the characters. There were a few action sequences here and there, but nothing all that exciting or memorable. More often, those scenes were played for laughs. There could have been an intense boat chase scene, but instead, we watch Cavill calmly eat dinner while all the action happens in the background. It felt like Ritchie should have spent a bit more time on some engaging action set pieces. As is, this feels more like a character study (nothing wrong with that). We just needed a bit more excitement to spice the movie up.

Now, I didn't hate The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. For a film that looked like it wouldn't be all that compelling, I did have some fun with it. It's flawed, but it was on occasion funny. I still wouldn't consider this a very good movie and it feels like a clear misfire. Still, it wasn't terrible. Unfortunately, in today's crowded marketplace, "not terrible" isn't good enough.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Mission: Impossible, Spy, Snatch