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

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

   This 60's-set spy thriller simply spills over with style.

   The Man from U.N.C.L.E. forces me to pose a question that I don't think has ever been asked before.  Can a movie be too stylish?  Going in I knew this movie would be both stylish and a little stylized.  It was obvious that director Guy Ritchie was hamming up the 60's setting to maximum effect.  And he does.  But it's also obvious that the studio - Warner Bros. - gave the director more creative freedom than he has had in the past.  And this doesn't always go well.  When a major studio film does something out of the ordinary it is usually the case that the director managed to sneak something by the studio.  When a major studio film does TONS of things out of the ordinary it is usually the case that the director has earned the trust of the studio and they are letting him do as he pleases.  For an example think of Interstellar last year.  The editing was strung out, the pace was relatively slow, and there were spots where you couldn't even hear the dialogue on purpose.  That's a director doing as he pleases.

   The result here is that The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is very stylish and very stylized.  The cinematography and editing are a mix of classic 60's era technique and typical Guy Ritchie panache.  It was hard to tell if I was seeing the future of editing or the past.

   The musical cues were a joy.  I've never actually seen a Tarantino film (gasp!) but if I did I have a feeling the musical cues would be very much like this.  It's just pulpy 60's style stuff taken to the max.  It fits right into this movie.

   The costuming and the production design were spot on.  Not like Captain America: The First Avenger, for example, where one minute you're in war-torn WWII Europe and the next you're having shootouts with laser guns in hallways from the starship Enterprise.  The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was not like that.

   There are a couple funny things to note about the casting in this movie.  Both the American CIA agent and his American handler were played by Brits.  Meanwhile the Russian agent was played by an American.  And finally the main English character was played by a Swede.  Truly an international cast then, even if it is a bit silly.

   Speaking of the actors, Henry Cavill did a great job.  It's easy to tell that Guy Ritchie must have been unrelenting on the matter of Napoleon Solo's voice (that's Henry's character).  It's very distinct and a bit overplayed in my opinion.  But I have to wonder, really, because that's kind of the idea with this whole movie - to be overplayed.  It's fun!  Armie Hammer was my favorite of the three main characters as Illya, the Russian Agent.  And Alicia Vikander was a fine Gaby.

   I guess I really should say a bit about the premise!  The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is based on a TV spy show of the same name that aired in the 1960's - when this movie is set.  The show and the movie are about a special team comprised of agents from both sides of the Cold War.  They are tasked with handling anything that represents a threat to both nations.  So . . . typical super spy stuff.  It's all good fun.  In the movie at least.  I haven't seen the show.

   Overall I would say the style of the movie was almost overwhelming.  It certainly would have been if it wasn't so darn fun!  But it kind of felt uneven or incoherent with all the different styles they attempted to cram into one.  I say kind of because my instincts tell me that there was a coherent style and I just couldn't pin it down with one viewing.  Anyway my only word of warning is that this is pure romanticized Cold War spy action.  And very stylized.  We're talking almost as stylized as Ang Lee's Hulk was in 2003.  But that is, perhaps, just what this movie needs to really set itself apart from the likes of Jason Bourne, James Bond, and its fellow 1960's American spy TV program - Mission: Impossible.  And the style really does set it apart.

      Big Shot Critic