The Man From UNCLE Blu-Ray/DVD: first reviews

The Man from U.N.C.L.E (Blu-ray/DVD combo)

Warner Bros.

2 stars (out of five)

This retake on the famous 1960s’ TV show about a pair of mismatched American and Russian CIA/KGB agents is disappointingly dull.

Though the movie is high on production values — exotic locations, vintage cars and stylish fashions from that era — the script is predictable and there isn’t a character in it worth caring about.

Henry Cavill (as Napoleon Solo) and Armie Hammer (as Illya Kuryakin) might be chiseled hunks, but they don’t have the chemistry and charm of the TV show’s stars, Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. Indeed, the movie’s attempted humour is feeble.

These hostile adversaries are teamed by their respective countries to stop a criminal group intent on acquiring a nuclear weapon that would threaten the U.S. and Soviet Union. Director Guy Ritchie trots out the obligatory punch-ups, car chases, boat chases, gunfights with the bad guys etc (done much better by the James Bond franchise), but it’s all curiously flat.

Elizabeth Debicki somewhat enlivens the finale as the deliciously evil blonde leader of the nuclear plot, but she’s not enough to save the movie.

There’s a decent slate of extra features.

— Andy Cooper / Regina Leader Post

‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’

(PG-13, 116 minutes, Warner): Cold War secret agents Napoleon Solo (played here by Henry Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) are resurrected in this new take on the old TV series. According to Washington Post critic Michael O’Sullivan, “it fails to evoke any of that show’s 1960s cool.” Contains action violence, suggestive material and brief nudity.Extras: “A Higher Class of Hero” featurette. Blu-ray: “Spy Vision: Recreating ‘60s Cool,” “Metisse Motorcycles: Proper and Very British,” “The Guys from U.N.C.L.E.,” “A Man of Extraordinary Talents,” “U.N.C.L.E: On-Set Spy.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article44270670.html#storylink=cpy

Much more about UNCLE:

Amazon.com - http://goo.gl/OD1XKW

Amazon Australia - http://goo.gl/ODQYPY
Amazon Brazil - http://goo.gl/qYPYg6
Amazon Canada - http://goo.gl/XrC6gc
Amazon France - http://goo.gl/IGxkLq
Amazon Germany - http://goo.gl/Wtz6WB
Amazon India - http://goo.gl/vtNMYo
Amazon Italy - http://goo.gl/gPOn6X
Amazon Japan - http://goo.gl/Cwqw1s
Amazon Mexico - http://goo.gl/xY6ANr
Amazon Netherlands - http://goo.gl/y1t4KO
Amazon Spain - http://goo.gl/ph9s0Z
Amazon UK - http://goo.gl/RDkUxB