(May Contain Spoilers)
I had been recommended this film and I do love Guy Ritchie films! I thought when watching it that it was going to a little bit more like Snatch (2000) or Rock ‘N’ Rolla (2008), but it wasn’t, but this wasn’t a bad thing I actually think it was just different and nice to not expect it, the storylines didn’t massively interweave and it wasn’t highly predictable like the films mentioned above. The Man from U.N.C.L.E is based on an American TV show back in the 60’s, which the film also seemed set so added a period Austin Powers feel, which I liked.
An American spy, Solo (Henry Cavill), and Russia KGB Illya (Armie Hammer) team up to take down Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki) who has built a nuclear bomb using Dr Udo’s (Christian Berkel) knowledge. Solo and Illya, however, are initially against one another and battle to take Gaby (Alicia Vikander), who is Udo’s daughter to gain her knowledge and use her to get the bomb. After Solo and Illya are told they must team up with one another, they embark on a journey to Italy to retrieve the discs the knowledge is stored on and the bomb itself.
On their travels, Gaby acts as Illya’s fiancé but actually starts to develop feelings for him whilst on the mission and Solo is sleeping around with the receptionists. The trio attend a party where the goal is for Gaby for get reacquainted with her estranged uncle, Rudi (Sylvester Growth), as the spies think he is the only one who knows the whereabouts of Udo. Later, Gaby is invited to a private lunch where she gives up Solo and Illya’s cover and finally meets up with her father. It is them revealed by Waverly (Hugh Grant), who is a British spy/agent, that she is on his side and she blew the spies cover to be trusted by the enemy in order to see her father and retrieve the bomb.
Victoria, however, clocks this scheme and sends Gaby off to be killed. The final battle seems Gaby rescued by Solo and Illya, who have now got used to working together as a team and recover on a boat. They realise the bomb they retrieved didn’t have the nuclear fluid in and Victoria had it so managed to track her down on another boat and blow her up. Just as the film comes to a close, Waverly reveals another mission that he wants all three to work on and that their code name is U.N.C.L.E.
I enjoyed the style of this film and the couple of major fight sequences, you could tell it was Ritchie’s work. I thought Henry Cavill was great, his sarcasm and pernach suited the era and character. I liked the conflict between the American and Russian spy I thought that added elements of comedy, as well as the love interest of Gaby. This film seemed to have everything. Entertaining, comedic and groovy!
Available to stream on Netflix.
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