Growing up in the ’80s, some of my fondest TV memories were the reruns of classic spy shows from even earlier decades – “I Spy,” “Get Smart,” “Mission Impossible” and of course, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”
Suave agents, secret gadgets and the Cold War brought intrigue and action to my afternoons and gave me reason to hightail it home when the final bell rang at school.
It’s no surprise these classic programs have been made into modern-day movies, but unlike Tom Cruise’s fantastically successful “Mission Impossible” films, which bring the old intrigue to updated stories, the new film in theaters “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” goes back to the ’60s and stays there.
Cold War themes, antiquated attitudes and a European je ne sais quoi infuse “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” in a way that makes the film feel even more classy and authentic than its TV predecessor.
In the film, actor Henry Cavill (of “The Man of Steel” fame), dons the ultra-suave demeanor and impeccably tailored suits of American U.N.C.L.E. agent Napoleon Solo with flair and understated gusto, a modern-day Cary Grant hamming it up with charm and humor. Cavill probably could have carried the movie by himself, but that’s not the story of U.N.C.L.E.
Instead, Solo (the irony of the name most certainly intended) is coupled with an antagonistic Russian partner with the ultra-cool name Illya Kuryakin (played by Armie Hammer), as America’s best and Russia’s best have to get over their differences to stop an ex-Nazi plot to destroy the world.
Or something. It’s not about the bad guys here (although the movie suffered from the lack of a compelling villain), and it’s not even about its rather bland plot after the clever premise – it’s about the odd-couple dynamic between Solo and Kuryakin.
That’s a bit of a double-edged sword. For there are certainly moments in the movie when Cavill and Hammer make their characters sing with fantastic and funny chemistry. There are also times when it feels forced and miscast. The unevenness isn’t necessarily the actors’ fault, however, as the script and storyline are wildly uneven.
The director’s heavy-handed effort at being stylistic is also a double-edged sword, sometimes making for memorable moments, at other times making the film feel forced and foreign. More clever and unique than Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible,” nonetheless “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” may be just trying too hard to be cool to really succeed at it.
As for its worldview, this is mostly just a spy thriller with good guys and bad guys and few lines about the evils of Russia’s communist system and the Iron Curtain.
There is, however, if you’re willing to go beyond the movie a bit, an opportunity to explore the old adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Is he really?
Solo and Kuryakin are enemies with a common enemy, but the movie reveals the flaw with thinking that alone makes them friends. When the common enemy is eliminated, Solo and Kuryakin face a choice: Return to killing one another … or become actual friends?
It’s only a small morsel of food for thought, but, be honest – Do you watch this movie because you’re looking to think about the bigger world, or because you’re reliving a bit of childhood fun?
If the latter, “U.N.C.L.E.” doesn’t hit the target as often as Kuryakin, but it doesn’t miss as bad as the evil henchmen do, either.
Content advisory:
- “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” rated PG-13, contains only a half-dozen or fewer obscenities and no profanities.
- The film is also lighter on the sex than the trailer would lead you to believe. Most of the steamy stuff was in the trailer, namely: a woman walking away from the camera wearing only her panties, showing off leg, bum, naked back and a bit of side-boob; a man reaching up a woman’s skirt to adjust a hidden tracking device; and a drunk woman who wrestles a man to the ground and straddles him … before passing out. There are also some instances of implied sex, including adulterous sex, some statues with bare breasts, a few innuendo-laced jokes and a veiled but graphic oral sex joke. In one scene, sex sounds can be heard through an eavesdropping device, but there are no sexual scenes visually depicted.
- The movie contains a subtle form of violence, as car crashes and assassinations are implied, but not actually shown on camera. Even some of the fisticuffs happen off-screen. There is a distinctive lack of gore. There are, however, a few scenes of hand-to-hand combat, several explosions, plenty of gunfire, and a sequence where characters endure electroshock torture.
- The film’s only religious or occult reference is a line from a song over the opening credits which talks about a preacher who is “filling us with light, telling us what he thinks is right.”
