Movies: The Man From U.N.C.L.E

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - TV and cinema are seen as competitors. But there also is a symbiotic relationship. Movies are transformed into TV series, for instance Fargo, and TV series become movies, like Mission Impossible. The film "The Man From U.N.C.L.E" is another example (imdb). The movie is based on a TV series from the 1960s. The original was a parody on James Bond movies, hilarious, funny and  charming. I enjoyed watching the original spy show and was curios how the contemporary movie adaption will look like. Director Guy Ritchie made me also curios. Why did the producers chose the ex-husband of Madonna, who had once the reputation as the wild man of British cinema ("Snatch")?

Guy Ritchie didn´t disappoint me. I had much fun watching this movie and enjoyed the fast paced story line, set in the cold war climate of the 1960s: An odd couple, a CIA agent and a KGB spy, are hunting together ex-Nazis who are in possession of a nuclear bomb (this is a spoiler free blog. You can find a synopsis here wikipedia). The film was nostalgic, elegant and charming with some well placed pieces of violence.

Part of the fun came from the settings: The digitaled revived cold war times Berlin, with the "Mauer" (Berlin Wall), and the decadent upper class society of 1960s Rome gave the movie a special touch. And listening to the congenial soundtrack with a lot of 60s gems was a pleasure too.

Arnie Hammer impressed as KGB agent by his powerful presence garnished with some comedian elements. Henry Cavin as the snobbish and eloquent CIA agent Napoleon Solo entertained as well.
Elizabeth Debicki, Alicia Vikander and the German actor Silvester Groth, as the murky "Uncle Rudi", fit into this ensemble.

Watching "The Man From U.N.C.L.E " is like slurping a refeshing sparkling drink on a hot summer day.