Guy Ritchie took part in the frenzy of this year's espionage movie with the reboot / adaptation of the 60's TV series, The Man from UNCLE.Although this film is arguably more inferior than previous Ritchie movies, but thanks to solid acting and a touch of humor with the right timing, able to lift the narrative a little stereotyped into a dish that has a quality entertainment value.
The setting, of course, was in the 1960s, precisely in 1963 when Russia and America were in cold war status after conquering Germany, now divided into two, West Germany and East Germany. The CIA agent, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), was ordered to rescue a mechanical girl working in a garage behind the East German wall, Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander). This rescue was done in order to obtain information about Gaby's father who was employed as a nuclear technician by the remnants of Nazi soldiers.
But Gaby is not only wanted by America alone. The Russians assigned their best KGB agent, Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). Gaby's grabbing effort by two elite agents who became a delicious opening scene was presented in a small but intense car chase scene, not only packed with exciting and entertaining - this scene is my favorite - but also bridging the audience to get to know both characters and the origin of their rivalry.
With the first introduction that grazed the life-and-deaths, of course, both were very surprised when their respective bosses assigned them to work together on a mission to find Gaby's father. Mutual skills, spying, mutual sarcasm are the main points of the dynamics of their interactions, which sometimes make me think that both appear as matching pairs. Oops.
The femme fatale in this film is Elizabeth Debicki as Victoria, smart woman, charming, but also deadly. I do not want to reveal the plot further, because there are some twist plots that if I explain it will reduce the enjoyment for those who have not watched. As typical as an espionage movie, in this film there is betrayal, car chases, boat chases, explosions, and other spy-smelling things.
Collaborating with fellow scriptwriters in Sherlock Holmes, Lionel Wingram, Ritchie presents an elaborate storyline and intends to precede the audience. Good, they succeed. The plot curves in and toward the unexpected that will make us bound until the end of the movie despite having a long duration, almost 2 hours.
Obviously, Ritchie's focus here is his comedy. Light babble and sitcoms are scattered everywhere, but they flow with nature without impression. Even climactic scenes during Victoria's vocal pursuit of a ship, seem "mild", whereas involving this involves a nuclear bomb.
However, Ritchie still did not leave the action scene that became one of the requirements of a typical movie spy. With a good and detailed set, Ritchie offers a fun action sequence. One of the interesting scenes is a romp that involves jeeps, ATVs, and motorcycles in forests and rivers. And this is taken with the iconic directors of Ritchie: a quick spot with fast frame cuts, sometimes coupled with split-screen styles.
With just a little backstory, there is no significant character development. Napoleon is a former master thief employed by the CIA, Ilya a rigid agent who has family problems as well as Gaby. But what makes this film work behind its one-note characterization is the dynamic interaction between characters. Having almost the same skill with different characters, Napoleon and Ilya have a comical relationship typical of a buddy-movie, with Gaby being the mediator between the two.
Henry Cavill pointed out the charm he had somehow hidden. His performance as Napoleon became the main fuel of this film with its parlente charisma, style and manner of speech without losing a sense of humor that reminds us of the Sean Bree era of James Bond. It is surprising how Cavill unleashed a monotonous acting capability, which is inversely proportional to Man of Steel.
In addition to Debicki, the appearance of other players is not so striking. But the emergence of Hugh Grant as a side character that appears near the end of the film is significant, which marks the involvement of other state agents in the seizure of this mass killer technology.
Although there is still a bit of contemporary flavor in it, the feel of retro is felt thanks to its production order featuring fashion, accessories, cars, and buildings that capture the good 60s era. It is also supported with old school jazz soundtrack and scoring from Daniel Pemberton.
I never watched the original series, so I can not tell if the film is faithful to the original material or overhauled. What is clear, The Man from U.N.C.LE. is an old-school espionage movie with a modern twist that's worked out seriously, though it's not as ambitious and as bold as any other Ritchie movie since the Snatch era .. The movies are entertaining and stylish, and certainly I would not mind waiting for a sequel that was hinted before the credit title.
