Review: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. – a suave reboot of the 1960s TV series – has style in the bucket loads, and is matched by intrigue and a host of breezy performances. In the height of the Cold War, CIA operative Solo (Henry Cavill) is paired up with former KGB enemy Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) to infiltrate and bring down an organisation harbouring nuclear ambitions. It’s a tricksy – sometimes tiresomely so – send up of old-school espionage ideals. The script is laced with humour and charm in the spades that helps to cover the lagging narrative, and the action is neatly handled by director Guy Ritchie, who makes the most out of his locations. It’s the performances, however, that are the films real treat. Cavill and Hammer exhibit cracking back and forth chemistry and Alicia Vikander, whose character Gaby is more than a throwaway plot mechanism, continues to impress with her steely resolve. Dressed to impress, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. does exactly that.