Waste of time

Just so...so bad

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

No cameos from the real Solo and Kuryakin, no theme tune, no tailor shop, no UNCLE. Ilya Kuryakin is a powerful robot rather than a likeable nerd........honestly.......what was the bloody point?

I knew going in that this was going to be junky, but I had no idea the thoroughgoing awfulness in store. First, Henry Cavill is so devoid of charm and interest that the part would have been better played by a mannequin. If you thought he was bad as Superman/Clark Kent hang on to your hat. Then you have the story, which is paper-thin and nonsensical. That, in itself, doesn't doom a movie with lots of other things going for it, but when everything else is bad, a weak plot is just more wood on the bonfire. Then there's the style. Ritchie went for a quick cross-cutting between the Cavill action and the Armie Hammer/Alicia Vikander action, which did not work at all, again mostly because what they were up to was uninteresting. The oft-interrupted budding romance between Hammer and Vikander has no chemistry. Cavill's Bondesque nailing of the hotel front desk clerk and the ice queen villain are totally perfunctory. See what I said above about his lack of charm -- Never before has a male hero's sexual conquests been so obviously inserted to check off an item on a list of tropes, rather than growing naturally from the character. The unbelievable feats of daring-do pile up so fast and thick that you will be buried under a mountain of WTF moments, like Hammer in a car chase on foot. The torture scene is an extremely misjudged tone shift. Characters do things that have no point in the story and aren't explained in terms of character development -- like Vikander downing a bottle of booze. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

3 out of 5 stars (average)The Man From U.N.C.L.E had a lot going against it for me. It was an August action-comedy with two actors with mixed resumes and a trailer that looked like it could be either a funny romp or a generic bore that a studio released because they could. However, my biggest worry was that the film was based on a TV show from the 60's that I hadn't heard of until I discovered the movie's existence. TV show adaptations often lead to very mixed results (See the Charlie's Angels movies for proof) that feel like studio cash-grabs on an old property with current stars in the main roles. Knowing this, I sat down in my theater, saw the title credits roll, and was greeted to a very fun, funny action romp that, while nowhere near a classic, will satisfy those looking for well-shot action and understated humor.The plot is simple: In the 1960's American spy Napoleon Solo (Man of Steel's Henry Cavill having a jolly good time) and KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer pulling off a great accent) must work together to find and destroy a nuclear warhead. They will do this with the help of the intelligent Gaby (Alicia Vikander of Ex Machina providing what may be the summer's best leading lady performance). However, the trio (or at least the guys in it) must contend with the villainess Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki) on their mission to prevent nuclear disaster, as well as letting their own prejudices kill each other.I was surprised by this film. Director Guy Ritchie (most famous for the Sherlock Holmes flicks and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels) crafts well-shot action sequences that are fun to watch and never go on too long. Ritchie has a knack for action, using slow-motion effectively so that you can see everything, but knowing when to pull back and let everything go crazy at appropriate times.However, the action isn't the main attraction here. That honor goes to shockingly good character chemistry and understated comedy. I thought that the pairing of Cavill and Hammer was an odd one, as neither had proven their might as comedic leads yet. Imagine my glee as the two worked off of each other in the same way that pinballs bounced in a pinball machine. Their delivery is nearly perfect, and their verbal fights are fun to the ears. I would like to see these two work together again, as they are an unexpectedly well-matched duo.Alicia Vikander also pulls a hat trick, being the most useful and intelligent female lead I've seen this year. She is not there for the male demographic to stare at (but they can anyway). Vikander has a presence onscreen that will hopefully give her a long career.I was quite sad to see that our theater consisted mainly of middle-aged individuals. I'm not trying to ageist, but I find it odd that a movie starring heartthrob Henry Cavill and hottie Alicia Vikander would have an audience completely free of hormonally-charged teenagers. I'm not saying that the middle-aged are hormonally dead, but I think the casting of these individuals was a ploy to get members of my generation to come into the theater, not theirs. Hopefully, this will not be like Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, a Chris Pine vehicle based on a famous literary character from the 90's in which 50-year-olds made up half of its opening weekend. This movie will please my generation: it has humor, action, and hot guys. What more could you want at 20?The last item of mention is the comedy. This film could go into a few different genres: Buddy film, Spy action, and Comedy. The movie immediately has a light tone that lets you know that it's going to be a fun ride. The humor ranges from innuendo to flat-out wit, made all the funnier by the actor's chemistry mentioned above. The bottom line is this: If you want to laugh, then this flick should satisfy your needs.The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a fun, suave spy caper with great chemistry, humor, and memorable action. It's a great film for those who want to kick back, relax, and see Henry Cavill prove he can do something other than brood in the Supes costume.Rated PG-13 for Action Violence, Suggestive Content, and Partial Nudity

'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' is a 60s spy film, based on a 60s cold-war-era TV show, and it is great! While spy movies might be overdone this year ('Mission: Impossible' 5 just came out, 'Spectre' is out in three months and 'Kingsman' is similar), there's always room for fun, classy, well-made films - and Ritchie's eighth film is up there with 'Snatch', in my opinion. It's certainly as good as, if not better, than the two 'Sherlock Holmes' films.UNCLE stands for "United Network Command for Law and Enforcement", although you don't see this until the final credits - it's just another lame acronym, a la SHIELD. The film keeps lots of it's 60s elements - the cars, clothes, editing/split screens, the cool yellow/bold subtitles when required and the fantastic score/soundtrack. The story is simple - a KGB agent (Hammer) and a CIA agent (Cavill - Superman himself) are forced to work together with a German (Vikander) to find the bad guys who are making their own nuclear weapons. It's funny that Cavill is British, playing an American; Hammer is American, playing a Russian; and Vikander is Swedish, playing a German.The film doesn't mess around, and while it goes for almost two hours, it is very well paced, with never too much downtime - there's a car chase in the first 5min, boat chases, plenty of fight scenes and always a joke or funny quip not far away, as the American and Russian take turns to emasculate each other. The chemistry between the three leads is great and makes the film - aided by the Italian scenery - as the film draws you in expertly and has a very satisfying ending. I hope there's more!