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

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a lighthearted spy movie set in the 1960's.

In a way, this is an origin of our team. The team consists of Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), an opportunistic kleptomaniac, Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), an russian spy with anger management issues, and Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), an expert German mechanic.

As a general warning, this film contains no major plot twists, which makes discussing the content of the movie difficult. From what I can say about the film, it doesn't need plot twists, in fact the lack seems to fit the movie better.

For all intensive purposes, this film is a throwback to simpler times, where the clothes were brighter, the allegiances were simpler, and computers didn't take up the entirety of peoples lives.

All actors play their parts well, with the only flaw being that at times Henry Cavill sounded like a sixties radio presenter. The villain for this piece, Victoria Vinciguerra, is well portrayed, but under developed.

This films banter is brilliant, with each character feeling individual solely based on dialogue. The jokes were witty and the relationships felt right, especially as natural is the last thing anyone could say about this film. In all fairness, I feel that character relationships are Guy Ritchies forte as a director.

This film provides moments of laughter, which made is a far more amusing romp in the sixties. Although, a couple of the jokes were repeated too many times.

Some of the shots could be mistaken for those from the sixties. The long zooms help set the scene well for the movie, as well as show how impressive some of the choreography is regarding certain stunts. What also impresses me is the lack of shake-cam action scenes. In fact, a lot of modern tropes seem to have been abandoned for older styled shots. This film is a great example of how something as simple as lighting can affect the entire way a scene appears.

Now to move onto the action. The lack of shaky cam helped a lot, as well as the sixties based shots. The most impressive parts for me were when the violence was implied, as it lead to far more creative scenes. When it wasn't implied, the action was serviceable, with each character playing to their own strengths.

All in all, I found this film to be enjoyable, the throwback elements make it a worthwhile view. It was sassy and witty.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a fun film that harkens back to the days when summer movies were simpler affairs. I wish more summer films were like this.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Three

Recommendation: Watch if you want to have an enjoyable time at the cinema.

I hope you enjoyed this review, please let me know what other movies you would like me to review.

Have a great day. Looking forward to your feedback.