Director: Guy Ritchie

Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Jared Harris, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca Calvani, Sylvester Groth

Rating: 12A

Running Time: 116 mins

Release Date: August 14th, 2015

If the recent spate of Daniel Craig fronted James Bond films took its espionage seriously, then THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E is its relaxed younger brother, relishing in its groovy 1960’s era. With enough charm and action to make up for its dull plot, the film is full of the typical Guy Ritchie swagger.

Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are two American and Russian spies forced to work together to defeat a bigger threat who, well, doesn’t really do anything. Guy Ritchie isn’t too bothered about setting up any kind of plot or establishing a formidable foe for our suave heroes, instead having the story at its thinnest and indulging more time to just letting Cavill and Hammer do their thing on screen.

Both stars haven’t had a lot of chances to see their full potential onscreen but Ritchie knows to use their best aspects. Cavill especially is the standout performer, embedding his secret agent Napoleon Solo with a quick wit and lots of charm. Sure, it’s not much of a stretch acting wise but it’s fun to see him having fun with the role.

Ritchie has a great hyperbolic style that applies to the spy genre perfectly, bringing out some outlandish stunts that fit his larger than life characters. Not to mention the film is quite funny, Armie Hammer especially playing the ever so serious Russian spy Lllya. The two bounce perfectly off each other, creating a strong partnership that carries the whole film.

The 60s setting allows for Ritchie to have a lot of fun with the costumes and performances, giving his film a retro quality underneath all the modern paint that he applies to it. An opening car chase sets the bar high for the film and while it never manages to better its opening sequence, there are two wonderful sight gags in the film, one involving Napoleon taking a break from fighting to have some wine and cheese and the other involves a man strapped to an electric chair while Napoleon and Lllya argue over what to do with him.

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E lays the foundation for these characters and is more than a nice introduction to them, but it sometimes feels more like a collection of ideas that were never fully formed. Alicia Vikander has fun in her role as a German civilian helping our heroes and her involvement in the film brings out a good depth to Hammer’s character, as well as allowing there to be some witty interactions between the three main characters, but Hugh Grant’s role is more like an extended cameo for potential sequels, and the bland antagonists of the film leave a lot to be desired.

It’s a film begging for a sequel, so it can figure out what worked best the first time around and build upon that.

With more style than brains, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E is less concerned with giving you a clever spy caper and more about giving you a good time.

Verdict

Missed THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E’s UK premiere? You can watch the interviews here.

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