The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) UK release date, trailer and movie details

If the prospect of SPECTRE isn’t enough to get your spy thriller action loving kicks from then you can boost things with the recently released reboot of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie. With Man Of Steel‘s Henry Cavill as one half of the Cold War secret agent duo and Guy Ritchie in the director’s chair hot seat, it had all the hallmarks of being a possible blockbuster. Check out the the trailer below to see the film in action for yourself.

It’s the first modern day cinematic adaptation of Sam Rolfe’s NBC spy-fi TV show of the same name from the 1960s, although a number of the original episodes where released as extended movies on the big screen. Ian Fleming contributed to the original concepts, in particular creating the character Napoleon Solo, who’s played by Cavill in the film, so there’s a fairly significant link to the Bond series. However, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was always much less intense than it’s 007 brother and that’s definitely the case with the 2015 reboot too with much more comedy elements in the dialogue.

Release date

The film had a US and UK release date on the 14th August 2015, coming just after the rest of the summer’s blockbusters and giving it a clear path to possible glory at the cinema. It’s been a four year break for the director, who’s last movie was Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, and his latest outing is a good progression on the action adventure. It brings in a little of the gritty realism of his earlier cinema outings like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and combines it with great comedy timing and a cool 1960s style in his latest movie release.

It has also been confirmed for home entertainment in 2015 with a UK release on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download on the 7th December 2015, following the US distribution a month earlier on the 17th November.

Storyline

The plot centres around an unlikely duo during the Cold War era of the 1960s as the US and Russian governments collaborate to combine CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin on a mission to stop a dangerous international criminal organisation with ties to former Nazi Germany. They’re both used to working alone and on opposite sides of the East-West divide, so the two don’t take to the arrangement all that well, but as they start to uncover the mysteries of the criminal organisation and their plans to rupture international stability by distributing nuclear weapons and technology, they’re forced to put their significant differences behind them.

For anyone not up on their 1960s TV show knowledge, U.N.C.L.E. stands for United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, so they’ve got a lot of might behind them, but from the outset, their only clue to follow up on is the daughter of a German scientist linked to the plot. If they can use her to get in on the international arms race deals that are bubbling away to stop them before the relatively weak global political stability is compromised then they might stand a chance of saving the world together.

Cast

In addition to Henry Cavill (Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice) as Napoleon Solo, the U.N.C.L.E. duo is completed by Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) as Illya Kuryakin, his Russian counterpart. The cast also includes the brilliant Alicia Vikander (Ex-Machina, Tulip Fever, The Light Between Oceans) as their only lead, Gabby Teller, Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Macbeth) as Victoria Vinciguerra, the beautiful millionaire villain at the heart of the plot, Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows) as CIA boss, Sanders, and Hugh Grant (Cloud Atlas) as the esteemed Mr. Waverly.

Production

Joining Guy Ritchie on the production of the film is John Davis (Chronicle), Steve Clark-Hall (RocknRolla) and Lionel Wigram, with David Dobkin as the executive producer. As well as directing and producing the adaptation, Ritchie also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Wigram, picking up again on the successful partnership that they’ve built up on the Sherlock Holmes films.

Review

From the first look of the trailer below, we were hard pressed to say that The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie was about to do something special, but it’s gone on to surpass expectations. It delivers a very cool action comedy and it’s nice to see the spy team back in the reboot. Guy Ritchie does a good job at the helm with Hammer and Cavill working out well as the central characters in the reboot, and Vikander and Debicki making the perfect equivalents to Bond girl class. It doesn’t take itself all that seriously, but it is a fun movie with a lot of well choreographed action and a good amount of serious intensity. Read our full review for more details.

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The Man From UNCLE 2015 movie poster

UK release poster

Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander kick back with a little drink.