Movie Review: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)


The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is based on the 1960s TV series of the same name. After seeing this film, my dad said this is more of a prequel to the series, but the film's ending definitely leaves it open for a sequel; this installment was very good, too, so I hope there is one.

Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) is an American agent who chose to work with the CIA in place of going to jail; he's a rogue pickpocket who got in trouble a while back. Illya (Armie Hammer) is a Russian/Soviet spy who normally doesn't work with Americans; in fact, the first time Solo and Illya meet is on a wild car chase, with Solo trying to protect Gaby (Alicia Vikander), whose father may have been abducted. When Solo and Illya's handlers inform them that they will be working together to find Gaby's father, they sulk about it at first, but soon enough start working like a team, in order to prevent a nuclear warhead from being sold.

Cavill and Hammer were a great team here (the movie was definitely not lacking in the "eye candy" or talent department!). Other standouts were Alicia Vikander as Gaby, a woman living in Germany who turns out to be hiding some secrets; Elizabeth Debicki as Victoria, wife of one of the "bad guys"; and Hugh Grant as Waverly, a British intelligent agent, although he is woefully underused ... he's only in the last 1/2 to 3/4 of the movie, though if U.N.C.L.E. gets a sequel, it appears that he'll have a larger role in that.

Yes, see this movie. I almost want to give it 4.5/5 stars, but there were a few plot points that I found to be unclear, so I'll settle for 4. The music, clothing, and cars in film were on-point as well; I found myself wanting all of the '60s/'70s clothing that the women got to wear, and the music matched up perfectly with the scenes. It was a little strange at first to hear Armie Hammer with a Russian accent, because I've only heard him in movies where he had an American accent (The Social Network, The Lone Ranger, Mirror, Mirror), but after a while you get used to it. This film reminded me of Charlie's Angels meets James Bond, only in this case there are TWO Bond's, and I really do hope they do a sequel, as it's one I would definitely go to the theater to see.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is in theaters today, August 14th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 116 minutes. 4 stars out of 5.

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