The Man from U.N.C.L.E review: A light, fluffy Cold War-cake, with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer-shaped cherries on top

A minor wristwatch sequence in director-producer, Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E, will remind many of the Bruce Willis moment from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. This part is a tiny emotional tug thrown in to offset Ritchie’s fun, comic spy caper. It’s a detail that the film could easily have done without perhaps, but it’s a cherry on top of the light, fluffy cake action-and-Cold War cake that Ritchie has baked for us. When a movie opens to scintillating Sixties’ jazz, the magic of vintage spy movies is revived in a flash. James Bond, Derek Flint and Matt Helm were the movie spies of that era. There was also The Man from U.N.C.L.E, a popular TV series. One of the spies in it was an American agent named Napoleon Solo, who happened to be the brainchild of James Bond-creator, Ian Fleming. So the sense of homage that surrounds Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E is fitting. There is not much by the way of a plot, which is how it goes in most spy movies. It’s the Sixties, the Cold War is at its coldest. Enter from the left, a sexy and suave American spy, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill). Enter from the right, an equally if not sexier as well as super-sensitive Russian spy named Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). Bang in the middle is a cutesy, firebrand, East German mechanic named Gaby (Alicia Vikander). [caption id=“attachment_2413598” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Image courtesy the film’s Facebook page[/caption] Gaby happens to be the estranged daughter of a Nazi (none other than Hitler’s missing rocket scientist), Dr Udo Teller. Dr Teller is now believed to be in the clutches of an Italian fascist network that wants a nuclear bomb that it can sell to the highest, most Nazi-inclined bidder. Who is going to save the world from nuclear warheads and Nazis? Solo and Kuryakin, naturally. The Man from U.N.C.L.E is wonderfully entertaining and you know you’re up for a helluva ride right from the beginning when we get a car chase that doesn’t follow the usual roadmap of car chases. There are hairpin bends, both sides of a divider seen from a top angle, a spectacular reverse and hunky Ilya, who can literally run fast enough to chase a speeding car and even yank off a bonnet with his bare hands for good measure. The chase is a fine introduction to our heroes. There’s Solo, who is smooth, manipulative, brilliant and calculating. Ilya is the intense, volatile and equally brilliant, if less calculating. Which of them gets the (German) girl? It doesn’t matter because she’s meant to be more than eye candy and let’s face it, The Man From U.N.C.L.E is a bromance as much as it is a spy movie. In order to save the world, this trio must go undercover to Rome. Ilya is to pretend to be Gaby’s fiancé while Solo pretends to be a classy art thief. This requires some shopping for Gaby, which means we get to watch the two gentlemen discuss Rabanne belts and Dior dresses. Priceless! Much of the film is about personality clashes. If Ilya isn’t being provoked by Solo, then he’s being baited by Gaby. There is a hilarious scuffle that is vaguely erotic (but not quite) between Ilya and a drunk Gaby, full of bumps and knocks, amplified by a soundtrack of groovy romantic number. The film’s soundtrack ups its humour skilfully. A soaring Italian ballad plays at a tense moment, when Solo decides to have a picnic while Ilya is doing his best to avoid getting either killed or captured. What follows is a grand, visual spectacle of a truck sinking underwater. The only dampener is that the story’s villain is almost forgettable. One of the problems of having such a captivating tussle for power between Ilya and Solo is that the other characters struggle to catch the audience’s eye. It would have been fun to see more of the icy, sophisticated Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), who doesn’t feel as deadly as she should. At one point, we meet a deadpan Hugh Grant, who makes a cameo appearance as a kindly and wrinkled British spy. It takes till the end credits to realise he’s the history element of U.N.C.L.E (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) and its leader. Most of the actors play a nationality different from their own, complete with the requisite accent. British actor Cavill (Man of Steel) does a decent job with both American arrogance and the accent. American actor Hammer struggles to be Russian. It seems churlish to say the two are too handsome, chiseled and well dressed to be taken seriously, but sadly, that is their (and our) lot. Swedish actress Vikander is more convincing in her role and boasts a neat twist to her tale. The real hero is the incredible soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton, with a few tracks evidently inspired by the great Ennio Morricone. The period is also captured in rich detail in the perfect sets and props, including Gaby’s accessories. So far, it has been a great year for fans of spy flicks, with titles like Spy, Kingsman and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Now with The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Ritchie gives us a potent cocktail that mixes his audacious style with old-school elegance. You can only have a blast and wait for a sequel.