The Man From U.N.C.L.

E
Before I watched the film I expected it to be a
typical boring action film that is a rip of James
bond. Im usually interested in action films
with a gripping storyline however from what I
was in the trailers and what I had read about
it didnt really appeal to me, I thought of it as
something that wasnt really worth watching.
The man from u.n.c.l.e lies under the action/
adventure genre and is the film update of
the classic 60s television show. The message
of the film is the recreation of the series and
putting a new spin on the original.
In the 1960s during the cold war, CIA agent
that goes by the name Napoleon Solo is
assigned to transport mechanic Gabby Teller
from East Berlin to the other side of the wall.
Gaby Teller is the daughter of the scientist
Udo Teller that escaped from Germany at the
end of world war two and who has now gone
missing. On their mission they are chased by
KGB agent Illya Kuryakin but successfully escape. Napoleon Solos chief Saunders unveils
that Gabys uncle works for the very wealthy
Alexander Vinciguerra and his wife Victoria
and father Udo might be held against his will
and secretly building a nuclear weapon for
him. Napoleon is forced to team up with KGB
agent Illya and Gaby to investigate in Rome.
I first thought that the plot was quite jumbled
with too much going on, however when
watching the film I was drawn in and didnt
lose focus on the main storyline which made
more sense to me. As I was watching the film
the fact that it was a recreation of a classic

1960s series was always in the back of my

mind. Thinking about it made the film believable because the storyline and characters are
in relation to the 60s series.
The two main character in the film are the
two agents Napoleon and Illya. Napoleon
Solo is a very charming and self-assured
character who dresses well and has a taste
for expensive suits and ties. Illya Kuryakin on
the other hand, is very reserved, intellectual
and intense. He dresses more seriously to
Solo and in darker colours and is generally
more ascetic in his tastes than his partner and
expresses distaste for extravagance. In my
opinion I feel that Armie Hammer, who plays
Kuryakin, pulls off his character well with
some interesting choices. However, Henry
Cavill is quite ordinary and boring playing Solo
especially compared to Hammer. I feel that
he was somewhat of a disappointment to the
character and made him bland.
I think that the camerawork in the film was
quite frantic and makes the rising conflict
unable to be understood. The tracking people
and vehicles shots through chase scenes
become impossible to gather together and
understand until everything enters the
same frame. The are many slit screens and
comic strip style montages but they are done
without trying to keep the viewer in sync with
whats happening. Each distinct chase in the
film included visual effects works carried out
by separate studios and while shooting in
Berlin the shot a car chase in a location that

no longer exists today so they had to accurately reference the correct era of streets and
buildings for digital extensions.
Overall I gave the film three stars because I
did find the storyline interesting however I
feel that some of the actors let the characters
down which made the film boring and borderline unwatchable. The television show was
way before my time so I cant really compare
but as a modern spy film I found it average.
I scene that I enjoyed in the film was when
Alicia Vikander (Gaby) and Armie Hammer (Illya) has confrontation between their characters. Alicia actually hits Armie around the face
and his shock was priceless. After I watched
the film I read that that scene wasnt planned
that way, Guy Ritchie, the director, pulled
Alicia aside and told her slap Armie during
the argument and no one else knew that she
would do that in the scene. I think that this
scene has a certain flair and style to it.
I dont think that I would generally recommend this film but if I did it would be to people older than me that would maybe relate
to it and understand it more than I did. I feel
because I didnt know that original series I
maybe didnt connect to the characters in the
film as well but other who has seen it may do.
I would compare The man from U.N.C.L.E to
more action spy movies, for example Kingsman: The secret service, Red and mission
impossible.