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

And so the year of the spy presses ever onward...

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. differs from the crowd of other spy films this year (Kingsman, Spy, Mission:Impossible - Rogue Nation, and the upcoming Spectre) by landing somewhere in the middle of humor and dramatic action, but also because it occurs during the 60s. Given that pretty much every spy-related film this year has been nothing short of great (we'll just pretend that Mortdecai doesn't count), I've had high hopes for UNCLE, especially because recent trailers were far superior to the earlier ones. 

Directed by Guy Ritchie, the film was most likely always going to be style more so than substance, and that's the case with his venture into the decades old TV show. Many critics and movie theater patrons aren't fond of the "style > substance" type of films, and I'd agree that they have a valid argument. Personally, I don't mind a film with some hollow pizzazz if I know that's going to be the case going in.  

UNCLE fits this bill perfectly and while many other critics were left wanting more, I found yet another 2015 spy film that I enjoyed immensely. Go ahead and chalk this one up to my "guilty pleasures" list for the year. 

I see the robot from Ex Machina is doing well for herself...

"I hope that's a flashlight in your pocket."

The plot of the film is simple. Russia and the U.S. are in an arms and power race, but a third party has recently acquired a new technology that makes it much faster and efficient to create nuclear weapons. Pairing the CIA and the KGB, our "heroes" are forced to work together to stop the third party, and also acquire the technology before the other side can. Henry Cavill, taking a break from donning the red and blue tights, plays CIA agent, Napoleon Solo. Armie Hammer, who I don't think I've seen since the overlong The Lone Ranger plays KGB agent, Illya. Cavill is pretty stoic in his role, cleft chin and shiny hair and all. I wouldn't say he "owns" it by any means, but I enjoyed his presence in the film. Hammer sports a thick Russian accent and is also enjoyable, but similarly he doesn't "own" his role either. Both men have some good chemistry and they form a team that I wouldn't mind seeing more of. Also in the cast, hot off her amazing performance in Ex Machina is actress Alicia Vikander. She plays a fun, secretive character, who is strong willed and can take care of herself. UNCLE certainly doesn't help to decrease my ever growing crush on her as she dons several different 60s outfits and looks stellar in each one. Lastly we have Elizabeth Debicki who pays the villain, Victoria. She's entertaining, evil, and also gets to sport some fun outfits, but she's the most forgettable of the bunch. Hugh Grant also makes a couple appearances as an MI6 agent, but it's really more a glorified cameo than anything. All in all the cast is really fun, they make a decent enough mark, and they all look great throughout. 

If all villains looked this good I'm not
sure I'd mind being a POW

What really made me enjoy UNCLE so much is its style. The time period of the 60s is well captured and fun and Ritchie lets us know it from the way he films. Action scenes are often kinetic, sometimes humorous, with a few sporting some comic-book pane styling. UNCLE plays as a film that has Ritchie's style dripping all over it, from beginning to end, yet it never overdoes it. I also absolutely loved the music choice in the film, both original score and soundtrack. It's not necessarily one that I would listen to outside of the film, but each scene's musical attributes are near-perfect 60s fittings and there was hardly a moment that I wasn't tapping my feet. UNCLE owes a lot of it's fun and style to the music that was chosen for it and this is an example of film made better because of it. Hand in hand with the "style" theme, this is a film that looks great and sounds even better.

The film sports some awesome locales as well!

I think that UNCLE is a somewhat divisive film. I understand that a lot of people want a rich experience every time they step in the the theater. In that sense, this film is not for you. Truth be told, it's all fluff and doesn't present much that you haven't seen before. Thanks to a winning cast of characters and stars, not to mention a great dose of stylish 60s flair, I was having too much fun to even care.

CONS:

• Simple, rather unoriginal plot
• Forgettable villain
• Not much substance
• Poor CGI in a few areas

PROS:

• The cast is really strong and I would love to see this group of characters in another adventure
• Cavill and Hammer have some good, brotherly chemistry 
• Alicia Vikander. Is gorgeous. Also, her character is pretty awesome
• Great capturing of 60s era style. Fashion, vehicles, political atmosphere, etc.
• Guy Ritchie's style is evident throughout the film and he was a solid choice for director. The action is fun and filmed well, the script likes to play around, and it looks good most of the time
• Stellar music choice. Both the original score and soundtrack are well crafted and fit to each scene. This is an example of a film made entirely better because of the music that accompanies it
• A lot of fun

Rath's Review Score: 8/10