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

SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW

Classy. Stylish. Nostalgic.

These are the three words I'd use to describe The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in a nutshell.

The latest offering from acclaimed director, Guy Ritchie (Snatch, the Sherlock Holmes duology), "U.N.C.L.E." couldn't have come at a worser time.

We've already had superb films this year in the espionage genre like Kingsman: The Secret Service and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, not to mention the latest James Bond film, SPECTRE, coming in early November.

Hence, "U.N.C.L.E." has a lot to go up against.

Mercifully, it delivered something that was not only different (in some areas), but also fresh.

It's different because the film is set all the way back at the very height of the Cold War, whereas the others are set at present day.

This is a fresh starting point as we haven't seen a film like this in a while, and that breath of fresh air is very welcome in a genre as popular as espionage.

Okay now, on to the film proper.

The story was very simple, with predictable twists and turns. But that in itself isn't an entirely bad thing, as simplicity is what a lot of things need sometimes.

In this case, I thought the simplicity worked.

By keeping the story simple and easy to follow, it allowed them to explore other areas of interest like the very lovable characters and well, the glorious colour and vibrance of the swingin' 60's.

The characters were excellent, especially the main duo of Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer).

Those two had this sort of bromance and chemistry which really worked on screen.

I loved the dynamic of having an American agent teaming up with a Russian one, and the conflicts and bitterness they have towards each other.

I thought it worked really well in this film, and that to me was the standout feature of it.

The other characters were... alright, I guess. All of them consisted of actors I had never heard of before, expect for Hugh Grant who played a certain Mr. Waverly.

The female lead, Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) wasn't bad nor great, despite her supposed German accent being really off.

The supporting cast was average, with no particularly memorable performances.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment with the cast would be the main baddie, played by Elizabeth Debicki in the role of a Victoria Vinciguerra.

If I'm being brutally honest, I'd say that her eye make-up was scarier than her evil scheme.

I mean, seriously. We've seen it a million times before.

On to the directing, and I thought it was alright.

Guy Ritchie gets the job done while adding his own little artistic touch to it, which I like a lot.

I love it when directors have certain styles in their films, like Quentin Tarantino or Matthew Vaughn.

It gives their films some extra character, which is very welcome.

However, I think a little bit too much of Ritchie's style when into "U.N.C.L.E.".

There's a certain overuse of this fancy form of editing during action sequences which I thought ruined the scene rather than stylise it.

Kinda bummed that Ritchie didn't just stick to basics for those particular scenes. Sorry, mate, I didn't like it.

Apart from that, though, everything else was alright.

Costumes were great, as they documented 60's style perfectly.

Music was fitting, locations were exotic and everything looked fine.

Oh yeah and one more thing.

When I saw the trailer for the film, I was literally laughing at Henry Cavill's weird accent in it.

In the film, however, it sort of grew on me.

It was weird and funny initially, but it became normal after a while.

Same goes with Armie Hammer's really good Russian accent. 

Funny initially because it was so thick, but it became a norm over time - and that's a good thing!

Alright, so all in all, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was an enjoyable 2 hours, filled with laughter and quality entertainment.

However, the film's over-dependence on the main duo to carry the film as well as the average supporting cast mark it down.

I'll just put it this way - It's not worth watching again alone, but worth watching again if someone asks you to accompany them.

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

6.5/10