Some things I liked some I did not.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

This TV movie featured Robert Vaughn and David McCallum returning as their popular espionage characters Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, agents of the U.S. branch of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. In this movie which obviously takes place a number of years after the series ended. Napoleon Solo had inexplicably left or been let go years ago, and after he left Illya also mysteriously quit the force. Illya has gone to work in a store where he designs women's outfits - some of which are pretty offensive and revealing. This was a disappointment for the production as well as Illya's character. I liked that the fictitious character JB (presumably James Bond) made a brief guest appearance, assisting Solo in a car chase who he referred to as "a colleague." I enjoyed that when the program went to commercial the last frame was frozen and then blurred out - just like in the original series. I did not like the altered music which slightly resembled the original TV show theme. There were a few funny parts in this movie which bring back memories of the old series, but The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. is not a favorite. Many of the original episodes were significantly better.

First,i have some choice words about this "unique" CBS TV movie from 1983-Nice,,But No Dice!! "THE MAN FROM UNCLE" was a landmark NBC-TV series from 1964 to 1968,as well as being Metro Goldwyn Mayer's answer to the 007 craze of the 60s-and successful enough for MGM to theatrically release most of the two parters as motion pictures. but what was never explained was how Viacom Productions got the rights to do this reunion movie,with out MGM's participation! director Ray Austin did a so-so job-but in all fairness,they still could've used any of the original directors who worked on the TV series,and why they didn't do that,is a very big mystery,with money usually being the main reason! the reunion movie was somewhat nice,seeing Robert Vaughn and David McCallum back as UNCLE's finest-but it would've been better,had MGM participated in this reunion! ironically,Michael Sloan,who later went on to create "THE EQUALIZER" TV series at Universal in 1985,also did the first reunion film of "THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN" and "THE BIONIC WOMAN" in 1987,using an almost exact same story,that was used in "RETURN OF THE MAN FROM UNCLE"-and over the years,i've been meaning to point that out,until now! point being,is that remakes and reunions fall seriously short of being the items they once were,when the originals had their run! pity,that Sloan couldn't get Stephanie Powers to return as "April Dancer" for this reunion,,but then, this movie just wasn't up to speed! about the only satisfying justice that was done,was in a 1986 episode of NBC's "THE A TEAM" series,when Vaughn and McCallum reunited,but was on opposite sides of the law-and the episode,"The Never Say Uncle Affair",was actually WAY better then the 1983 TV movie,because it was clever,and stylish! otherwise,the reunion film,just did not have the flare and wit,of the 1964-68 series, and could've been way better! currently,Warner Bros. is planning to make an UNCLE movie,since they own the rights,as well as the MGM library,but i don't think that their efforts will be any better,which is why the originals will always be the Superiors!

Talk of a 'Man From U.N.C.L.E.' movie has recently resurfaced, this time with Stephen Soderburgh's name attached. Not being a fan of his work, I cannot say I'm too thrilled, but let's wait and see.In 1983, writer/producer Michael Sloan ( future creator of 'The Equalizer' ) reunited Robert Vaughn and David McCallum for this entertaining television movie. THRUSH has stolen a nuclear device, and threatens to use it unless a hefty ransom is paid. Furthermore, it must be delivered in person by none other than Napoleon Solo, now a computer salesman. Solo agrees to return, provided Illya Kuryakin follow suit. If you can believe this, the ex-Russian agent now works as a fashion designer! The chief villain, Justin Sepheran ( Anthony Zerbe ), is an old enemy of Solo's and wants revenge...'Return' is generally disliked by U.N.C.L.E. fans for several reasons, one of which was keeping Solo and Kuryakin apart much of the time, greatly reducing the potential for interaction. A lot of episodes were like that too as I recall. The main plot is a retread of the Bond picture 'Thunderball', but money was clearly spent on the movie ( there's location filming in Las Vegas and a 007-style gun battle climax at a dam in Libya ) and the supporting cast is good. Keenan Wynn and Geoffrey Lewis are among the villains. British actors Simon Williams ( from 'Upstairs, Downstairs' ) and Carolyn Seymour are also in evidence. Leo G.Carroll having passed away, who better for the job of U.N.C.L.E.'s new boss than good old Patrick Macnee from 'The Avengers', in the role of 'Sir John Raleigh' ( there's a wonderful fan fiction story online - 'The Avengers Affair' - in which it is revealed that Raleigh is really John Steed! ). Gayle Hunnicutt ( once tipped to play 'Major Anya Amasova' in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' ) is absolutely awful though as defecting Russian ballerina 'Andrea'! Of the leads, McCallum seems to have weathered the passing of time better than his co-star, but they are still able to recapture the old magic. The film's tone is rather less campy than the series, and that was to be expected. As McCallum said in an interview at the time, there's no way you can be treat terrorist groups in a light-hearted fashion in these troubled times. There is humour though. When Solo's pen communicator suddenly bleeps in a casino, he says: "Excuse me, my pacemaker needs a new battery!".Director Ray Austin is better known for his work on 'The Avengers'. Overall this is good fun, vastly superior to 'I Spy Returns', 'Wild Wild West Revisited', and the 'Six Million Dollar Man'/'Bionic Woman' reunion films. But the cherry on the cake is George Lazenby's cameo as ( wait for it ) 'J.B.'. We first see him at the wheel of his Aston Martin waiting for traffic lights to change, when he witnesses Solo's car chased by K.G.B. thugs. He decides to give his colleague a helping hand, and deploys the car's gadgets to wipe out the opposition! For those of us who loved 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' ( 1969 ) and wanted to see George back as James Bond, this scene is an absolute joy. Incidentally, Sean Connery and Roger Moore were both filming Bonds - 'Never Say Never Again' and 'Octopussy' - when this was made!Despite the respectable ratings, there were no more movies of this kind. It remains to be seen whether or not 'M.F.U.' can work in the 21st century. I hope Soderburgh ( or whoever directs it ) does not make the mistake of treating it like a big joke, as sadly happened with 'I Spy' and 'Starsky & Hutch'.

This is one re-union movie that had to be made. Fortunately it was made by a rabid fan of the original--a man named Michael Sloan who went on to produce "The Equalizer". Sloan and director Ray Austin (who directed many later episodes of "The Avengers") made sure they kept much of the tongue in cheek humour of the series, and made the movie a high quality venture, but up-dated it to then modern times (1983). A touching item was the stars made a point to notice they were getting to old for this kind of physical action, and that Illya points out "progress" is not necessarily a better thing. The supporting cast was first rate with Anthony Zerbe (what happened to him?), Geoffrey Lewis, Keenan Wynn, and especially Pat MacNee (former Avenger John Steed) as the new head of UNCLE...Its a shame a planned new series was not picked up by CBS.