Monday, May 22, 2017

Monday at the Movies - May 22, 2017

Welcome to another installment of “Monday at the Movies.” We continue to review movies adjacent to Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword without actually approaching the critically panned Camelot flick.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) – My immediate reaction after seeing this film, one confirmed by consulting with my resident expert (hat-tip to you, pops), was that this was a film that didn’t need to be called The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to succeed, both in its construction and in the general lack of major audience appeal for the 1960s television show. Put another way, this could have been “The Adventures of Jack and Vlad” without affecting the plot at all. As it stands, though, we have an entertaining action flick which would have been just as good on its own strengths; slick CIA man Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) begrudgingly teams up with his opposite number from the KGB, Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), to guide an East German mechanic (Alicia Vikander) into the lion’s den to stop a nuclear weapon from falling into the wrong hands. I very much enjoyed the period piece aspect of the film, set in 1963, and the trademark Ritchie sense of humor, reminiscent of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films. While this is clearly intended as an opening salvo in a franchise which the mainstream audience didn’t seem to demand any too highly, Armie Hammer acquits himself finer than he did in The Lone Ranger; though it’s difficult to see Cavill and not think “Superman,” he’s well-cast as a smooth operator, a kind of American James Bond. Vikander is her usual engaging self, though the film waits until the third act to give her more to do than wear mod fashion; surprisingly, it’s Elizabeth Debicki, late of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, who gets the meatier role as the scheming villainess. In short, I dug it, and I’d happily watch more installments.

That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” We’ll see you next week!

No comments: