Chance's Corner: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Before I get started, I'll go ahead and admit that I've never seen the television show The Man From U.N.C.L.E., so in no way can I compare this film's merits with its original source material. It's a shame, I know, but life must go on. I also had to Google what U.N.C.L.E. stood for: United Network Command for Law Enforcement.

The film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is more or less a precursor to the television series, with American spy Napoleon Solo and Russian spy Illya Kuryakin working against each other, and then slowly learning to work with each other. Set mostly in 1960s Rome (after sneaking a nuclear scientist's daughter across the Berlin Wall), Solo and Kuryakin are tasked with stopping an evil secret organization from getting their hands on a nuclear weapon.

Elizabeth Debicki serves up a deadly dose of beauty.

The feel of the movie is very 1960s Bond-era, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise since the Solo character was the brainchild of Ian Fleming. There's the cheeky humor, the over-the-top action, and then there's the dastardly villains spearheaded by fairly-new actress Elizabeth Debicki. I was delighted by the amount of screen presence she had.

Overall, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a lighthearted spy adventure with an interesting assortment of cuts and edits from director Guy Ritchie that drive the action. Henry Cavill (a British actor playing American) and Armie Hammer (an American actor playing Russian) make a great duo that don't have to rely on their good looks to make their characters interesting.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a movie I'd recommend you to check out at the Franklin County Library!