Man From U.N.C.L.E movie - Part 1

[Rowsdower!]

That interview was a fun read. It would be a shame if Man from UNCLE doesn't get a sequel because Cavill and Hammer seem to really enjoy working together.

 

[TheVileOne]

It honestly wasn't bad, but I found it to be very uneven. Like it wasn't sure what it wanted to be.

Didn't really integrate the theme either. A lot of bad Tarantino-style musical interludes.

I thought Cavill was the better of the two, but I wasn't wowed by either of the two main guys.

 

[Mysteryman]

Do we have tracking for this film?

 

[Rowsdower!]

It's apparently tracking in the $20 million range for the first week.

 

[TheVileOne]

Not surprised. It's not that great. At the end I didn't get the sense it was a franchise starter.

I wish we got Sherlock Holmes 3 instead.

Armie Hammer might be a good actor, but he's not a star. It's pretty good he didn't end up playing Batman.

 

[C. Lee]

I plan on seeing it tonight at 7.

 

[TheVileOne]

The movie doesn't have a gigantic budget, so it doesn't need to make tons of money, but it still really lacked all the humor and fun of the original show. I just don't get why Guy Ritchie didn't want to have more fun with it. Didn't have the trademark gun or really any of the hallmarks of the original show, which was one of the most popular shows of its era.

You guys may not get it, but without Man from UNCLE there may not have been Adam West Batman, Get Smart, etc.

 

[Rowsdower!]

It was that influential?

 

[terry78]

So does this foreshadow the beginning of THRUSH? Any sequel hooks?

 

[The Batman]

It was an OK flick overall. I liked Cavill as Solo and thought he and Hammer worked together well enough.

 

[Flint Marko]

I came out enjoying it far more than I thought I would. One of my more enjoyable theater-going experiences in the past year or so. I'm surprised to see the reception is decidedly more mixed than I would have expected, I found it highly entertaining and well put together. For what it's worth, I think it was easily better than MI5.

 

[TheVileOne]

So does this foreshadow the beginning of THRUSH? Any sequel hooks?

Kinda, not as good as it could've been in that regard.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

How is Alicia Vikander in this? Since Ex Machina I am looking our for anything she is in.

 

[C. Lee]

I saw it last night and liked it a lot. It was funny and had good action. The only other thing I remember seeing Hammer in was the LONE RANGER...and I hated that movie, and wasn't impressed by him in it....but I really liked him in UNCLE. Cavill was great too...really good at dead pan humor.

 

[StarLord]

How is Alicia Vikander in this? Since Ex Machina I am looking our for anything she is in.

Check out A Royal Affair. Alicia and Mads Mikkelsen. It's really good.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I saw it last night and liked it a lot. It was funny and had good action. The only other thing I remember seeing Hammer in was the LONE RANGER...and I hated that movie, and wasn't impressed by him in it....but I really liked him in UNCLE. Cavill was great too...really good at dead pan humor.

Glad you enjoyed it Doc, the one aspect I was wary of was the humour, the original was always a bit tongue in cheek but not a spoof, thankfully it seems Richie got that.

 

[tamron]

I saw this last night and enjoyed it quite a bit. Cavill-Hammer-Vikander trio really worked well at the center of the film.

The movie doesn't have a gigantic budget, so it doesn't need to make tons of money, but it still really lacked all the humor and fun of the original show. I just don't get why Guy Ritchie didn't want to have more fun with it. Didn't have the trademark gun or really any of the hallmarks of the original show, which was one of the most popular shows of its era.

As a big fan of the show (I grew up on the reruns and then starting watching them again in anticipation of this movie), I agree that most of the hallmarks were missing (the scoped/stocked Walther P-38s/Masers, the hidden HQ, the communicators, the number badges, "Open channel D...")

Hell, U.N.C.L.E. doesn't exist until the final line, so the titular 'Man from' in this film is actually Waverly, not Solo. And Illya was a little off, if we're comparing to the show. McCallum's was taciturn and intense, but never quite as outright angry and violent as Hammer's.

But, the movie basically serves as a prequel to the show. We never got U.N.C.L.E.'s origin in the series, and this establishes that. I think should we get a sequel, those familiar tropes could well return. And I think Illya is left in a place were he could feasibly be less angry moving forward. What we got wasn't so out of line I couldn't roll with it, enjoy it, and hope for more to come.

Where I respectfully disagree is that the film lacks humor. I thought there was a lot of pithy repartee, Illya providing quite a few timely deadpan lines ("I... like to jog." "We call it The Kiss...No touch."). The torture scene was hilarious (after the tables were turned), as was Solo's 'lunch break' in the speedboat chase, Illya chasing the getaway car on foot? I definitely thought there was levity in the film.

I rather liked the balance, I felt it was there but never went full-on camp.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Really looking forward to seeing it after reading quite a few positive comments.

 

[Fallen Angel]

So went to see this one today and yeah it has a bit more style than substance but this was fun little popcorn movie.All of the main cast were fine and I liked Armie in this role. I enjoyed the scenes with Armie and Alicia. Got to feel for Armie though, man

Spoiler

Had three opportunities to make out with Alicia Vikander and all were either interrupted or she passed out.

7/10

 

[BH/HHH]

I was supposed to see this tomorrow but plans changed, gonna see it next Saturday. Really looking forward to it.

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

Hammer just doesn't do it for me and he made no real impression in this film either. He was undoubtedly the weak link and simply has no star power or charisma.

Overall, It was a fun movie, but nothing that will stay with you for very long.

 

[Mysteryman]

Any cameos from Vaughn or McCallum ?

 

[regnak]

Just got back, very enjoyable. I like Cavill 10X as much as Napoleon Solo as Superman. Also better than some James Bond's I could name(Cough Craig). I hope this gets a sequel.

 

[C. Lee]

Any cameos from Vaughn or McCallum ?

Unfortunately no.....I was hoping for a surprise up until the credits ended.

 

[slumcat]

I didn't really like it. This is what I posted in another thread.


So I saw the movie and I was reasonably looking forward to it having mildly liked Ritchie's last 2 films. I also saw Mission Impossible and it was a nice lesson because Tom Cruise exactly left UNCLE to do Mission Impossible. Let me start by saying that he made the right choice.

UNCLE seems to lack the energy of Ritchie's usual films. It is especially lethargic in a way, it seems glacial for a supposedly summer tentpole film. And I think much of the bewilderment is due to the leads. I think this movie is wildly miscast. From the trailers Cavill looked good but in the movie he seems rather ill-suited for the role. Hammer was also cast against type but made it work. But Cavill, I think the accent was a huge challenge as he said in his interviews. He seemed very uncomfortable talking in an American accent.

This role is not going to do any favors to Cavill. I think the reason he might have less dialog or less of fast dialog in MOS is his American accent. There is much more dialog in UNCLE than MOS and he kinda struggles with it. His best bits of acting are when he's not speaking for sure. I think Snyder might be purposefully be using him that way.

And the film is kinda strangely scripted so that no one character emerges as a lead though I got the feeling that with a big star in the role, Solo might have been the lead. Cavill is actually billed second in the opening titles, so it's not just BvS where he's being demoted.

The best performances are undoubtedly by the women. Their utter confidence and panache specially shines through when you see the men struggling though Hammer is decent. I don't see a sequel happening at all. The movie's kinda a misfire I would say.