During the early 1960s Cold War, CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) is ordered to team with KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) to stop a criminal organization from selling nuclear technology.  They use Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) to get an in with the Italian company which is the front of the criminal organization as her father is a kidnapped German scientist and her uncle also works for the company.

 

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is a stylish movie adaptation of the 1960s TV series with wonderful direction from Guy Ritchie and a likeable cast (The banter between the cast is fantastic).  The movie is a mix of 1960s James Bond films and other spy thrillers of the era with the guy Ritchie spin.  If you’re a fan of Guy Ritchie films and the two recent SHERLOCK HOLMES films, you will be entertained by this movie.  It does sail on the style, the cast, and the humor as the movie does have a thin plot.  The direction is smooth even though Ritchie does coast on previous storytelling choices like the split screen scene montages and the “explain what was really going on” sequences seen in the SHERLOCK HOLMES films.   I do hope there is a sequel to this movie and Warner Bros sees value in building this series as a viable franchise since the movie took a long time to make as stars (George Clooney, Tom Cruise) and directors (Steven Soderbergh) had to drop out.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

SPYVISION: RECREATING 60s COOL- a look at 1960s costume design, props, and cars made for the movie

A HIGHER CLAS OF HERO- a promotional featurette on the movie and the characters

METISSE MOTORCYCLES: PROPER AND VERY BRITISH- the owner of Metisse Motorcycles gives actor Armie Hammer and his stuntman Lee Morrison a tour of the factory in addition to Armie trying out one of the motorcycles

THE GUYS FROM U.N.C.L.E.- a look at the two leads and the characters they play in addition to behind-the-scenes filming of the truck sinking

A MAN OF EXTRAORDINARY TALENTS- a brief featurette praising director Guy Ritichie and his passion for playing chess between takes

U.N.C.L.E. ON-SET SPY- four mini-featurettes that go behind the scenes of stunts in two sequences, the restored helicopter from GOLDFINGER used for one part of the movie, and recreating a new version of an old photo featuring the dads of Hugh Grant, Guy Ritichie, and another crew member with Hugh Grant, Guy, and the crew member in the recreated photo

 

A code to download a digital HD copy of the movie

Also a trailer for BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE plays before you go to the main disc menu

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is a fun 1960s style spy movie which I wish there could be a sequel for since the movie is even more enjoyable on a repeat viewing.  I wish there were more behind-the-scenes featurettes.

 

This review is ©11-23-2015 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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