The Man from U.N.C.L.E (2015)

Guy Ritchie directs Superman in a suit and an angry Russian versus Nazi's? Yes please!

The Man from U.N.C.L.E follows an American Cia Agent, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) as he teams up with with KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) to attempt to foil Nazi plans to build nuclear weapons during the Cold War.

Guy Ritchie absolutely blows it out of the park again with this fantastically constructed, artistic masterpiece of a film. The action is intense, the comedy is hilarious and the characters blend so perfectly that you'd think that the story had 47 years to be perfected . . . wait a minute.

Joking aside, The Man from U.N.C.L.E compliments Ritchie's action/comedy style perfectly, giving him tons of opportunities to turn the Spy Movie genre into more than just car chases and bomb countdowns, now there is personality, dialogue, actual people behind the guns and they are a thrill to watch. Moments in the film really challenge the pace of the Spy and Action genres, more specifically when Illya is being pursued by security in boats whilst driving his own boat around in a sealed lake. We see the explosions and quick shots of Illya doing some extreme boating, but most of the scene is taken by Napoleon eating lunch in a truck, overlooking the lake, listening to classical music, fresh from being thrown from Illya's boat. This fascinating take on a scene's pacing does so much; it allows the audience to enjoy the action, they can laugh at the absurdity of Napoleon casually eating lunch surrounded by explosions and they can actually be relaxed instead of constantly thrown about in quick camera cuts and vehicle flips.

Cavill and Hammer perform fantastically together, the well-timed and precisely drafted dialogue is further enhanced by Cavill's execution of the signature cockiness and pride Napoleon Solo embodies, alongside Hammer's rich depth of character and steadily-paced performance as Illya. With this comes the ever seductive, if a bit rough around the edges, Gaby (Alicia Vikander). In order to outweigh all the testosterone being thrown about, Gaby, the West German mechanic, manages to provide a menagerie of different elements of the film; a window for the audience, a powerful female lead character, a weakness for the two male leads and a whole world of humour for herself.

I believe that having Guy Ritchie direct a Spy film really boosts both the genre and the style of the director. With Ritchie's classic "Scene then reveal" scenarios in which he plays the scene regularly, then has a character run through what was "really happening" afterwards, revealing the true plan, it perfectly fits as opposed to a film like King Arthur: Legend of The Sword, in which it feels overly stylised, it still worked as a charming artistic technique but having Napoleon Solo cockily explain his victory to the antagonist over the radio, it's a hark back to classic gentlemen spies, which proven by Kingsman, people very much enjoy.

Overall, The Man from U.N.C.L.E pays homage to it's original series, tests the waters for new Spy films and puts Ritchie's skills on display once again, without the use of British Gangsters.

4.5/5 - A well-tailored film for a well-tailored viewer.