Aka: Cliche 60s American and Cliche Russian Team Up
Does anyone find it ironic that this film has an English actor playing an American and an American actor playing a Russian? I guess Guy Ritchie knew the irony behind this casting, and well it works perfectly well.
The Plot
After suave American Agent, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), rescues Gabby Teller (Alicia Vikander), a mechanic and daughter of a Nazi Scientist, from Communist East Berlin, he winds up being partnered with a Russian Agent, Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), to stop Nazi Radicals from forcing Gabby's father into creating an Atom Bomb. Their only lead is Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki), a Nazi sympathizer who is connected to Gabby's family. As tensions between America and Russia escalate, can Solo and Ilya put aside their differences to accomplish the mission and possibly save the world?
Review
Guy Ritchie may not necessarily be one of my favorite directors, but he is definitely someone I always give a chance. He won me over with his two breakout films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, but although I found his later films entertaining, mainly the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes series, he hasn't exactly solidified himself as someone who I need to watch immediately. And unfortunately for him, this film still gives me that feeling. However, fortunately for him, this film also maintains my stance of always giving him a chance.
Based on a classic 60s TV Show, Man from UNCLE is the very definition of an old fashion spy movie. Kingsman may have been a love letter and throwback to old spy films, but this one IS an old spy film. Which works well for it as well as against it. What definitely works for it is keeping the film in the 60s setting. The time was perfect as the backdrop for spy movies as you have America and Russia waiting to go to war with each other at any given moment. It also helps that the fashion is that midpoint between the suave sophistication of the 40s along with the sexiness that will over take the 70s. It just sells you with classic spy imagery, and it helps that Cavill and Hammer are playing stereotypes that fit in this setting.
Cavill has been on Hollywood's radar for YEARS and finally gets his chance to shine in the spotlight as Superman. Unfortunately his dour performance made people question why was everyone so impressed by this guy? Luckily here, Cavill exudes the charm and suave of Napoleon Solo extremely well, showing audiences why this guy was sought after for several high profile roles in the past before his big break. He shows he could be charismatic and lively, which will definitely help him in the long run, but it won't be enough to turn naysayers around to his side. Still, his cliche 60s American accent works really well for his character, especially given he is actually English...or Welsh...or...something not American. The one who is American though is Hammer, who also plays a cliche role in the film: the brutish Russian Spy. His turn as Ilya is not exactly ground breaking, as many people were already convinced this guy can act from the Social Network. However his cliche performance works hand in hand with Cavill's cliche performance as two stereotypes having to team up to fight a common enemy. At least no one can complain about casting problems, because they're both ironically casted.
But despite ironies in casting, the word cliche will come up a lot because in the end, this movie is definitely a cliche. Everything about it is a cliche because it is a cliche 60s spy movie that feels like it came out decades too late. Smart audiences in tune with how spy movies work will know how Vikander's Gabby and Debicki's villainous Victoria will operate before it happens in the story. There are no new twists to the genre, nor can there be because spy movies have done everything, and it doesn't try to claim it has one. This is probably the most pure 60s spy movie we'll ever get, and that is completely fine for me. But it does say something if the most exciting part of the film is the first half when the two agents meet for the first time and how they have to eventually work together. The second half is where things start heading to predictability and the fun feels forced rather than natural as it did in the first half. Nevertheless, the film still feels entertaining and engaging enough to keep you through. And it also doesn't hurt that all the leads in this movie are ridiculously sexy. Eye candy for ladies and gentlemen.
Final Thoughts
In the Year of the Spy movie, this may so far be the weakest entry. It may not be the worst, as the year isn't over yet, but it definitely won't be the best. But what it is the best at is bringing back the old 60s spy movie flavor. However it may have done so a little too literally. There are some modern filmmaking techniques and Guy Ritchie-isms in the film, but overall it still feels like a movie that came out decades too late. The cast is magnificent, particularly Cavill and Hammer, but their characters are exactly as you think they're going to be all the way up to the end. No real surprises, but still a great time.
SCORE: 7/10 - A decent time for a film that feels like its from a different time
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