The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Featuring characters from the popular 1960s NBC-aired TV show starring Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, filmmaker Guy Ritchie's reboot—set in 1963 during the Cold War—introduces preposterously preening thief-turned-CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill), who is forced to team up with gruff, no-nonsense KGB agent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). Culturally programmed to never trust one another, the pair's mission is to prevent a nuclear bomb from falling into the hands of the wrong people—in this case, the evil menace being a wealthy Italian heiress/crime boss (Elizabeth Debicki). Due to familial connections, a high-spirited East German defector/car mechanic (Alicia Vikander) is along for the ride, reluctantly posing as Kuryakin's fiancé. Lacking the humor of the original series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is primarily notable for its overall visual flair and mod style: the actors look debonair in their male fashion model suits, the set design is classy, and the catchy retro-score is period-perfect. But this cliché-riddled spy flick also comes across as entirely superficial. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “A Higher Class of Hero” production featurette (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the behind-the-scenes segments “Spyvision: Recreating the ‘60s Cool” (9 min.), “Metisse Motorcycles: Proper—and Very British” (5 min.), “The Guys from U.N.C.L.E.” (5 min.), “On-Set Spy” (5 min.), and “A Man of Extraordinary Talents” (3 min.), as well as bonus DVD and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)