Guy Ritchie | 116 mins | streaming (HD) | 2.35:1 | USA & UK / English, Russian, German & Italian | 12 / PG-13
Guy Ritchie is a self-confessed non-fan of the classic ’60s spy-fi series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., so he seems a somewhat odd choice to helm this long-gestating big-screen reboot of the franchise.
Unsurprisingly, he gives it a bit of the Sherlock Holmeses (namely, a semi-comedic tone and appropriately swish, ’60s-ish direction), but loses some facets of the original (Russian agent Kuryakin is basically a completely different character). It’s entertaining nonetheless, if a little long.
The biggest let down is that it all feels like a fun preamble to a better sequel that, after its box office failure, will never happen.
Trivia time: in the 12 months ending January 1st 2016, seven films were released in the UK starring The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s female lead, Alicia Vikander. Seven. She deserved that Oscar for sheer employability if nothing else.
I actually really dug this movie, I enjoyed the fun atmosphere.
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Yeah, I think they did a great job of capturing that light, ’60s vibe.
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Whoever was in charge of visuals, really got the style down
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Yeah I enjoyed this and agree it promised a better sequel. I rather think its actually a clever way of making a prequel to a ‘proper’ Man From Uncle film but I guess Tom Cruise’s MI films have nixed that ever happening. Only so much room at the cinema for spy capers. Pity. Some of the fx by the way (like that aircraft carrier) were pretty amazing and rather understated.
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It’s a shame there were so many spy movies last year alone. All those superhero films have rather proved you can have multiple similar-ish films year after year, so maybe if it had come out this year…
I didn’t even really notice the effects, so they must’ve been pretty good!
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