Absolutely Brilliant!

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

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Actually, after reading all the glowing reviews here, I was reluctant to weigh in, because, speaking generally, other users don't like it when you knock their favourite shows off the pedestals they put them on. But this is a database, and it is intended for different perspectives. So here we go. For the time, this was ground-breaking and fascinating. Much like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, its contemporary, also unique. If you were a kid in the 60s (guilty) you could not get enough of these shows. In fact, even today (2013) I have friend who will phone me and the first words out of his mouth are "Open Channel D." But the real test of these shows I think is whether they stand the test of time? UNCLE was part of the spy culture of the era and trust me, there were spies everywhere. I mean in the bookstore, in the drugstore, on TV and in the movies. (No computers then, no streaming media). With hindsight, however, we now know (from numerous biographies) that Fleming was just a frustrated frat boy at heart, sitting on the beach, typing with one finger, and banging out fantasies with characters like Pussy Galore. If you were a serious writer, like John LeCarre, or even semi-serious like Donald Hamilton (Matt Helm) you had trouble finding a filmic audience in the 60s because the viewer demand was for stylized action and superficial situations. (Matt Helm movies, so-called, reviewed elsewhere on IMDb, with a lot of subsequent angry feedback from groovy 60s kids in serious denial). This series was clever. At first glance Vaughn seemed an excellent counterpoint to David McCallum, the latter being the very definition of "foreign hunk" for the period, and guaranteed a high female turnout from week to week. And part of the "gimmick," according to TV GUIDE of the era, was that there was to be at least one "innocent civilian" involved in each episode, to try to ground the series and avoid the mad Bond-esqe fantasies. Still, in the opinion of this reviewer, the series quickly fell into the same traps experienced by shows like WILD WILD WEST and BATMAN. Similar plots. Similar villains. Predictable plot arcs, including the obligatory "Rescue/Resolution" with only 7 minutes left on the clock per episode. No one's fault. Not blaming anyone. But viewers in the 60s wanted their action shows like they wanted their coffee -- sweet, double sugar. If someone had tried to do a Bourne film with Matt Damon (in theory) back then, they would have been arrested for excessive violence. And notice that this show was really the only point in Vaughan's career where he tried to be likable. He ultimately ended up playing bad guys, and McCallum ended up hosting multiple reality shows. The truth is that you wanted serious spy action in this period, there were lots of books, but your TV/film choices were limited. I have on IMDb done a very positive review of the Danger Man (Secret Agent) series out of Britain, followed by the Callan series, also from the UK. If the question on the floor is, which product holds up best over the decades?, and could be enjoyed even today, I give to nod to the latter titles. THE MAN FROM UNCLE is, I think, very dated and very specific to the period.

The mid-1960's saw a proliferation of fantasy-oriented series, starting out in the domain of comedy, with 'Bewitched' and 'Dream of Jeanie.' 'Man From UNCLE' (MFU) is historic because it was the 1st major big budget dramatic fantasy series to capture an adult audience (Irwin Allen's big budget 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' also premiered in 1964, but it never gained an adult audience).Besides being on the leading edge of the fantasy trend, MFU was one of the 1st TV series to utilize a truly cinematic approach to the photography of the scenes, which makes the series more interesting and exciting. MFU also featured some elaborate fight sequences, stunts, and car chase scenes...MFU resembles movies more than any TV series prior to it.MFU also featured TV's first Beatle-haircut character, Ilya Kuryakin, who was quite popular with admirers of male beauty...it helped that David McCallum and co-star Robt. Vaughn were both very fine actors with high personal appeal and good screen chemistry...they set the bar for many other 1960's heroic TV duos, such as Kirk and Spock, West and Gordon, etc.MFU was a ratings success and was appreciated by critics as well because of the dry banter and quasi-satirical touches (such as early episodes featuring an intro that broke the 4th wall). The success of MFU was a factor in the 1965-68 explosion of dramatic or quasi-dramatic fantasy TV shows: Mission Impossible, Wild Wild West, Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, the Invaders, Land of the Giants, etc. Two hugely influential series, Star Trek, and Batman, both premiering in 1966, were also part of this trend. Star Trek, to a large extent, was basically MFU in outer space...especially Season Two. And Batman was an simply an exaggeration of the the spoof element of MFU.Today, most popular cinematic and TV scifi owes something to Star Trek, and the whole superhero movie explosion that began in 2000 owes a debt to the 1966 Batman.Another way MFU broke ground was in outright sexiness...compared to dramatic series before it, MFU had quite a lot of sexy stuff going on. But despite the sexual liberties, MFU never got political, except in the most oblique sense...perhaps mild satire of nations and politics in general, yet never getting anywhere near jabs at actual identifiable persons or institutions. MFU's first season was the best...the producers were still experimenting with the format, the humor and satire were used with restraint, and the crisp B/W photography helped mute the cartoonish elements of the series and gave it a certain resemblance to film noir.Subsequent seasons are generally enjoyable, but humor, satire, and camp increased in Season 2 and took over in Season 3. In Season 4, a new producer stepped in and the humor was greatly reduced and the camp eliminated...Season 4 is nearly as good as Season 1.It was too late and MFU cancelled in early 1968. But, between 1968 and 1970, everything else from the mid-1960's fantasy explosion was also cancelled...my pet theory is that the sudden and irreversible evaporation of ratings for 'Batman' in '67-68 spooked everyone, causing them to flee the realm of fantasy as though it were a sinking ship...and no doubt, new trends were waiting to be mined.

Watching a "Christmas Carol" and seeing Leo G. Carroll, more or less made me remember the "Man from U.N.C.L.E.". Napoleon Solo, in my humble opinion, was the only other spy who could seriously rival Sean Connery. Vaugn was not only kool and suave, but handsome and cunning, much like James Bond except that Napoleon Solo had a quite different style. Illya Kuryakin, aka David Mcallum, was excellent as the right hand man for solo and was the first time I had seen an intelligent Russian portrayed on the screen. Although I had previously seen Mcallum in "The Great Escape". Finally, Leo G. Carroll gave a commanding performance as Mr. Waverly, a man who had complete control over his agents yet had a fatherly kind of feel. But, hey, you all know this and now back to the movies!

I know the last user thought the episodes were just average, but you cannot judge very early 60's TV by today's standard and technology. The show was very cool, and so were Napoleon and Illya. Heck, that is why there is still a huge following forty years later.Yes, the shows look as if they were filmed on back lot. They were. The pace and budget did not allow for on location scenes. Look at old Star Trek and you will see the same limitations.Many shows were intended to be funny or at least tongue in cheek. The episode with Joan Collins is a riot. The agents are trying to get a low class woman to pass off as a lady. This episode, The Galatea Affair, is a take on My Fair Lady and introduces Noel Harrison as Mark Slate. OF course you will remember that his father had the task of transforming Liza Doolitle in MFL.Try the very early pairing of Shatner and Nimoy in Project Strigas or The Ultimate Computer Affair, another great MFU episode. There were over 100 of them in this popular 60's show.