Tonight I saw The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with my father. We are both action and spy movie fans; he especially takes great joy in the Cold War era, international spy genre. He's a sucker for James Bond, Get Smart, and The Avengers (no, the other Avengers). He even occasionally goes in for Austin Powers and the less enduring Johnny English. So obviously I had to see U.N.C.L.E. with him.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is the epitome of Post-WWII/ Cold War era nostalgia. Ex-Nazis, not-so-ex-fascists, evil scientists, pretty brunettes, nuclear bombs, hard-core Russians, frowny brits, and charming, if a bit over-confident, Americans. The story follows two men, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), and one woman, Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), as they try to find Gaby's father who is making nuclear warheads for the evil, yet sultry, Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki) and her Italian fascist husband.
This is a funny movie but it's not Get Smart (the original television show or the newer movie), and it's certainly not Austin Powers or Johnny English. This movie strikes a nice balance between banter and action, without feeling over-done. The jokes don't strike me as manufactured nor does the dialogue seem like sass for the sake of sass. There are a few places where this is not the case. The scene towards the climax where torturer becomes torturee and our heroes stand with their backs to their foe as he is electrocuted and catches on fire unbeknownst to them is just a bit too ridiculous for my tastes. And the line of dialogue wherein Hugh Grant's character says to a grumpy Armie Hammer, "For a special agent, you're not having a very special day, are you?" left me waiting for a buh-dum-tssss. But for the most part the humor was smart and quick-witted enough for me to forgive the more groan-worthy moments.
Besides being two of the tallest and prettiest men in Hollywood today, Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, were not only disarmingly charming together, they were also quite good at the whole acting thing. I have to admit I have not seen either of them in their most famous works, Man of Steel (Cavill) or Lone Ranger (Hammer), but I am certain that their performances in U.N.C.L.E. will garner them even more fame. I hope as actors they worked together well, because on screen their characters' chemistry is dynamic.
For having just about every accent in the western world represented in this film, our two leads did a fair job being convincingly American (Cavill) and appropriately Russian (Hammer). In fact, I am moderately baffled that Henry Cavill is not American, but British, because he does so beautifully encapsulate the All-American vibe (see Man of Steel). But then again his name is Henry Cavill which one can hardly say without donning a high class British accent. If his name was Hank Carville there would be no convincing me he wasn't American. Armie Hammer, whose name will always remind me of baking soda, sounds like any Russian speaking English does to me-- a bit ridiculous. This is not to say he didn't do a stellar job-- or that he did-- because I honestly don't have a clue if he pulled it off. If you can imagine the most stereotypical Russian accent then you've got Armie Hammer's accent in a nutshell. But then again, I've heard actual Russians speak and I'll tell you from personal experiences that the stereotype in this case exists for good reason.
Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) was a joy from the moment she came on screen. Any girl who can work as a car mechanic while still being sassy and looking great, can have my heart on a silver platter. Are there moments where she is flat and unforgettable? Yes, unfortunately. On more than a few occasions she is over shadowed by the two lead males. This is not surprising and it really isn't too disappointing. She has some fantastic moments, driving in a car chase, dancing in her pajamas, knocking over a 6'5" Russian Armie Hammer, keeping cool under pressure during the biggest plot twist of the movie.
I love an evil dame, and Elizabeth Debicki delivers with her performance as the wife of a fascist and main antagonist. The fascist himself left something to be desired, giving me the impression that although the writers (Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram) knew they wanted our baddie to be a ball busting babe, they also figured it was impractical that a woman during this time period would have the resources to corral an evil scientist *and* distribute nuclear weapons. So they gave her a husband with an inheritance and almost immediately informed the audience that although the husband is bankrolling this, Victoria is the real brains of the operations. The best part of the husband is his last name-- Vinciguerra-- literally translated from Italian to "WIN WAR". Of course he's an evil fascist. Elizabeth Debicki does an outstanding job being evil and brilliant while also looking stunning. Her black and white dress for the climax of the film was so good that for a period of time I wasn't even listening to the dialogue because I was so in awe of her elegance. Also, whoever did her makeup for the movie deserves an Oscar, and yes I know they actually give out Oscars for makeup, and no I am not kidding.
The costumes for this production were consistently amazing, reminding me that the 60's were just about the best era for jewelry and fashion and that we should return immediately to chunky necklaces and bold prints. Maybe it's just *the men* in the suits, but both Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer seemed to me to be impeccably costumed, Cavill in rich suits he can supposedly only afford through his extralegal activities and Armie Hammer in more reserved turtlenecks and a news boy hat.
Overall the movie was everything I could have hoped for in a 60's style, international spy movie. It had pretty men, pretty women, pretty clothes, some drinking, some shooting, some car chases, drama, comedy, action, and a little bit of romance. If you are still one of us who bypasses Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan for a more refined James Bond, if you enjoyed the wave of spy television series in the 60's, or if you are just looking for an action movie with some intelligence this just might be the film for you.
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