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

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In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.



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MOVIE INFO

Henry Cavill ("Man of Steel") stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer ("The Social Network") as Illya Kuryakin in director Guy Ritchie's "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," a fresh take on the hugely popular 1960s television series. Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo's only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" also stars Alicia Vikander ("Anna Karenina"), Elizabeth Debicki ("The Great Gatsby"), with Jared Harris ("Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows"), and Hugh Grant as Waverly. The screenplay was written by Guy Ritchie & Lionel Wigram, who previously collaborated on re-imagining the classic detective Sherlock Holmes in two hit films. The story is by Jeff Kleeman & David Campbell Wilson and Guy Ritchie & Lionel Wigram, based on the television series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." John Davis ("Chronicle"), Steve Clark-Hall ("RocknRolla," the "Sherlock Holmes" films), Wigram and Ritchie produced the film, with David Dobkin serving as executive producer. Ritchie's behind-the-scenes creative team included two-time Oscar (R)-nominated director of photography John Mathieson ("The Phantom of the Opera," "Gladiator"), production designer Oliver Scholl ("Jumper," "Edge of Tomorrow"), editor James Herbert (the "Sherlock Holmes" films, "Edge of Tomorrow"), and Oscar (R)-nominated costume designer Joanna Johnston ("Lincoln"). The music is composed by Daniel Pemberton ("The Counselor").(c) Warner Bros

Rolling Stones

Another Sixties TV spy series gets the big-screen treatment — and this time it's retro

Have you noticed that the past is effing everywhere? Especially at the movies. Look at The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a moldy 1960s TV series that comes to the screen with no Mission: Impossible update or makeover. That's right — it's still moldy. But in a good way. Mostly. Director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes) is dishing out the same Cold War spycraft audiences ate up when James Bond was a pup. The TV series was so hot that Sally Draper was seen masturbating to it on Mad Men. Will today's Sallys be turned on? Ritchie tries his damnedest, having to stay in period (the film is a prequel to the TV show) but juicing up the action, sex and silliness.

It's tricky, navigating the casting of CIA agent Napoleon Solo and his KGB counterpart Illya Kuryakin, roles memorably created on TV by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, respectively. Studly Brit Henry Cavill, the latest Man of Steel, who takes on Ben Affleck's Batman next year, plays Solo with a devilish 007 charm that's closer to George Lazenby than to Roger Moore. But the dude can fill a tailored suit and launch insults like verbal missiles. His chief target is Kuryakin, played by L.A. homeboy Armie Hammer, who was so good in J. Edgar and as the Winklevoss twins in The Social Network that no one blames him (that much) for The Lone Ranger. Hammer does a nice job spoofing Kuryakin's accent and stiff upper lip. And he and Cavill, set up as rivals, bromance their way through the global spy collective of U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement), under the bemused leadership of Waverly (a hilariously deadpan Hugh Grant). Top-secret and all that.

The script, cooked up by Ritchie and Lionel Wigram, is the usual save-the-world affair, involving a global crime syndicate and, luckily, two delicious babes (excuse the sexism, but it's the Austin Powers Sixties). Aussie knockout Elizabeth Debicki plays Victoria Vinciguerra, the evil one (you can tell by her lacquered hair and nails). And that stellar Swede Alicia Vikander is Gaby Teller, the sweet one. Or is she? Vikander, the sexbot in Ex Machina, is having a hell of a year. And you can see why. Gaby isn't much of a part, but Vikander makes her a live wire. Her impromptu dance with Kuryakin that ends in a wrestling match is, well, something to see. So is the movie, when Ritchie ignores the tangled story-line and goes for pure escapist retro fun. Note to millennials: No one stops to text or take a selfie. You've been warned.

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