‘Mellows from OTT action into a subdued paranoid thriller’
duo shows any real edge, and builds up to a surprisingly poignant moment involving a wristwatch.
Out of time
Not that this is a film that’s particularly interested in edge. Ritchie – who has a co-writing credit for the first time since 2008’s RocknRolla – prefers the gold-hued kitsch of ’60s Bond to the Cold War paranoia of The Ipcress Files or The Manchurian Candidate. He revels in the period detail (split-screen, Nina Simone on the soundtrack), and it’s a canny move to locate U.N.C.L.E. in the same period as the original show, setting it apart from franchises like Bourne, Mission: Impossible and even contemporary Bond. There are times Ritchie’s film feels like it’s been sprung from a time capsule – witness a remote mansion segment steeped in browns and burnt orange.
Elsewhere, an underused Jared Harris as Solo’s handler seems to have stepped off the set of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, grumbling his lines (“Inside every Kraut there’s an American trying to get out”) and emboldening some of the film’s best scenes – including a lovely moment in which every person in a busy lakeside cafe gets up and leaves at the same time he does. Meanwhile, Hugh Grant is a jovial addition as the titular Man, clearly having fun doing something different, though like Harris and the hugely likeable Vikander, he’s ultimately little more than window dressing.
Coming in the wake of battier Bond hat-tip Kingsman: The Secret Service – and just two months ahead of SPECTRE – The Man From U.N.C.L.E. can feel oddly tame. While it lacks a memorable villain, and the central pairing fizzes but never sparks, the film gets by on its vintage charm and a third act upswing – and, for all its messiness, it’d be a shame not to see Solo and Kuryakin rutting horns again. THE VERDICT When it takes a breather from the in-yer-face action, Ritchie’s period caper revels in double (and triple) crosses, Cold War intrigue and vintage kicks. Fun, but not quite the old-school Bond it wants to be. › Certificate 12A Director Guy Ritchie Starring Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki Screenplay Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram Distributor Warner Running time 116 mins