The action comedy film “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” has made its premiere in London’s picturesque Somerset House. “If ‘The Man From U.N.C.L.E.’ becomes a franchise, there’s that…I’m not too sure when I could fit it in”.
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Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies were never as smart as he thought they were: they were more about making the title character look cool, and in a very glossy sense. Robert Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo was the dashing, dark-haired, well-dressed womanizer, while David McCallum’s Illya Kuryakin, black turtlenecked and his blond hair worn long, Beatles-style, was the more inward, hard-to-reach female heartthrob. Illya Kuryakin (Hammer) is his Russian opposite, a KGB operative whose sheer physical presence and violent temperament makes him their most coveted agent.
Then there’s the time period of the film, insisting on keeping the Cold War at the centre, as it should be, but for a modern audience this doesn’t feel palpable or relatable and even the use of classic gadgets leaves the film in a position in which we lust for more intricacies and technology.
Men on a mission… Trouble is, the actors who play the roles seem horribly miscast.
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The film also stars Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Debicki. He can do square-jawed all-American hero in his sleep – the guy is Superman after all – but when it comes to cracking wise, the majority of his jokes fall flat. At its core, the relationship between Solo and Kuryakin is intensely serious; under any other circumstances, they would be trying to kill each other. “Solo is brains rather than brawn, or guile rather than strength”. Ainsley turned heads within the putting ensemble. Ritchie gives the genre another twist by having the main “bad guy” be a woman with The Great Gatsby’s Elizabeth Debicki playing Victoria, the wealthy Italian who is using her money to fund the Nazi, which gives Solo an opportunity to use his charm and wiles to win her over. The result is a film that looks like it’s full of life, but flat-lines whenever the leads open their mouths.
