Set during the chic, sleek Sixties at the height of the Cold War, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. marks the first return of indie-British-turned-Hollywood director Guy Ritchie since his big budget adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Based on the 1960s television series of the same name, U.N.C.L.E. follows American secret agent Napoleon Solo (Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill) and his Russian counterpart Ilya Kuryakin (The Social Network’s Armie Hammer) as they have to put aside their countries’ differences to protect the lovely Gabby Teller (Ex Machina’s Alicia Vikander) and try to find her missing father who may be hiding nuclear secrets key to both sides of the Cold War.
Combining three of the hottest tickets in Hollywood at the moment in its three lead roles, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a whizz-fizz of a spy thriller, disappearing in a puff of smoke almost as soon as it enters your brain. It’s a rush of beautiful people in beautiful locations with plenty of charm to spare, even if there isn’t an entirely substantive reason for the whole shebang. And while all three leads acquit themselves quite admirably, trading quips and barbs with ease, the film really shines when its focus turns on the rapport of Cavill and Hammer, with Cavill being U.N.C.L.E.’s true standout. The brilliantly cheeky homoerotcism of the whole affair is a nice little play on the buddy cop formula, and I have to admit, the film does get a lot more fun when you imagine Cavill and Hammer are in fact in love with each other.
While the set pieces feel relatively smaller in scale compared to most summer blockbuster fare, the fun lies more in how Ritchie infuses them with his trademark sense of black humor and just enjoying the rapport that is built between Cavill and Hammer. Whether it’s the tables turning on the Nazi torture scientist or the delightful boat sequence where Cavill decides to have some lunch, the small scale is overcome by the unique execution.
As an adaptation of a Sixties spy television series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. succeeds in translating that kind of tone and charm into big screen laughs and thrills, even if it never reaches the dizzying heights that made a series like Mission: Impossible certified box-office gold. That being said, it's easy to tell that in less playful hands this material could’ve scraped the bottom of the Bond barrel, but luckily coasts by on the merit of snappy one-liners and a sexy cast instead.