Early Reviews Say That Like It Or Not, "You'll Want To Have Sex With" THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.

As U.S.-Russian relations go, so, apparently, goes the temperature of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., which means that this big-screen revival of the once-hot TV series of the mid-1960s is being served lukewarm. Set during the Cold War and stoked by seductive settings and an equally attractive cast, this would-be Warner Bros. franchise starter gets everything about half-right; conceptually it's got a few things going for it and it's not unenjoyable to sit through, but, at the same time, the tone and creative register never feel confident and settled. It's not bad but not quite good enough either. That U.N.C.L.E. was a popular TV show a half-century ago means nothing to young modern audiences, so late summer box-office prospects would appear modest.

Whatever tough-guy notion of 1960s masculinity Robert Vaughn and David McCallum once embodied as reluctantly paired Cold War rivals has clearly gone the way of the Berlin Wall in the otherwise retro-flavored “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” a PG-13-rated loose-nukes caper whose target audience is too young to remember the classic spy show that inspired it — much less the once-frosty deadlock between American capitalism and Soviet communism that pits its distractingly handsome leading men against one another. Starring Henry Cavill as American art thief Napoleon Solo and Armie Hammer as KGB operative Illya Kuryakin, Guy Ritchie’s latest feels more suave and restrained than his typically hyperkinetic fare, trading rough-and-tumble attitude for pretty-boy posturing. And though the pic is solidly made, its elegant vintage flavor simply doesn’t feel modern enough to cut through the tough summer competition. Those seeking stylish spies will surely wait for “Spectre” or that promised “Kingsman” sequel instead.

This new “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” would be an instant masterpiece if it were consistently as good as its best parts, but even as a hit-and-miss affair, it’s a bracing bit of late-summer fun for anyone who has given up the notion of a major studio offering anything truly revelatory until at least October. Ritchie trusts the material, the settings and the actors enough to calm down his hyperactive camera and to find the fun in analog espionage.

Long on style but short on substance, Guy Ritchie’s ring-a-ding-ding Cold War spy thriller attempts to resurrect a mothballed ’60s TV series the way that Mission: Impossible did. It doesn’t work this time. Henry Cavill, who manages to be even less charismatic here than he was in Man of Steel, stars as Napoleon Solo—a suave, Don Draper-esque American agent forced to team up with a dour KGB brute (Armie Hammer behind a thick Russian moose-and-squirrel accent) to find the nuclear-scientist father of a mysterious German beauty (Alicia Vikander). The early-’60s styles are chic, the Euro locales are swank, and the music cues (including a nod to Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon a Time in the West score) are fantastic. Too bad the plot and the lead performances are so lifeless. The only bit of fun arrives when Hugh Grant, playing a lockjawed British spymaster, shows up to set the table for a sequel that I predict will never happen. Rating: C-

When it takes a breather from the OTT action, Ritchie's period caper revels in double (and triple) crosses, Cold War intrigue and vintage kicks. Fun, but not quite the old-school Bond it wants to be. Rating: 3 out of 5

The studio was doubtless hoping for a franchise-starter akin to Guy Ritchie’s first Sherlock Holmes movie, but unfortunately Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer aren’t in the same league as Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. So while there’s fun to be had thanks to some terrific action, a great score, and wardrobe that makes it the most stylish film of the summer, we predict this will be the last you see of the men from U.N.C.L.E. Rating: 6.8 out of 10

In exploring the spy genre, Guy Ritchie has created another absolutely brilliant period action film with a great on-screen pairing and a story that leaves you in a place where you’ll be dying to see more of these characters. Rating: 9 out of 10

Whether or not you actually like The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the odds are exceptionally good that you will want to have sex with it. Guy Ritchie’s retro chic update of the classic spy series is perhaps the most alluringly filmed motion picture in years, and plays like every GQ magazine from the 1960s had an orgy to the slinkiest jams of the decade. Guys get shot, things explode, but nothing matters nearly so much as the cut of Henry Cavill’s suit and his consistently spot-on color coordination.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an action movie that’s a little bit ashamed to be an action movie. It’s a seduction played out on the audience, and it works. It may a thin, it even may be a little forgettable, but it’s a good-time film for a good-time evening, and leaves you with only the sexiest sort of guilt.

Cavill, Hammer, Vikander and Debicki all look fantastic, while Ritchie ensures there's enough period iconography - gadgets, split screens, accented villains - to remind us we are in a high stakes game of international espionage, rather than just a throwback fashion shoot. The result is a frivolous East meets West caper that often seems so disinterested with actually saving the world that it may infuriate audiences hoping for an authentic Cold War thriller. While nothing ever feels like it exists in any incarnation of reality, past or present, Ritchie clearly knows exactly what he is doing, and those willing to go along for the ride will be handsomely rewarded.

Ritchie does perfect a way of making the 1960’s setting appeal to modern sensibilities. The series itself feels dated, but the film keeps things moving. By working as an ‘origins’ film, and even teasing a sequel with the late arrival of Hugh Grant, there is room for the franchise to grow.

The real question is, can The Man from U.N.C.L.E succeed in the increasingly-crowded spy genre? With comedies, thrillers and action movies evolving from basic espionage set-ups, there is a danger of the throwback shenanigans here getting lost in the crowd. Rating: 3 out of 5

All this charm is a little surprising considering that on paper its trio of leads, Cavill, Hammer and Vikander, feel as charismatic as cardboard. As it turns out, the two men have an especially sharp rapport, something Ritchie previously conjured up between Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law in his Sherlock Holmes films. You wonder if this is what Ritchie is best at now: period action bromances set in cartoon-like worlds just enough removed from our own so that he doesn’t have to bother with subtlety (meaning the mangling of accents, for instance, doesn’t matter). He’s still not great with women – Vikander is a fun presence but ultimately pretty marginal, and at worst, marginal and pretty. Rating: 4 out of 5

Style has always been the substance of director Guy Ritchie’s films, and with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. he pushes his cheeky, sensation-driven aesthetic to new heights — which doesn’t mean his movies are getting any less distancing or one-dimensional. A big-screen adaption of the 1960s American television series, the film is nothing but a sensuous rush of snappy period costumes, elegant beauties, dapper men, kinetic action and so-so quips, and because Ritchie seems even less concerned with story than usual, that blinkered approach very nearly works. But ultimately, rising stars Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander are pretty pawns moved around the director’s massive retro funhouse, Ritchie endlessly amused by his elaborately empty construction.

Cavill is the Bondesque ladies' man who cuts a more physically imposing figure than Vaughn did and perhaps a little too conspicuous for that, but certainly no less suave. Hammer looks boyish beside him, but it suits Kuryakin's childish temper – especially when his partner comes over all protective. Hugh Grant doesn't get much of a look-in as their cavalier English handler, Waverly, which might come as a disappointment to fans of the show, but by the explosive finale, it's clear that Ritchie is angling for a franchise. That's by no means guaranteed; this entry mightn't set the world on fire, just warm it up enough to keep the corn popping.

Like a live-action Lupin the III that so desperately wishes it could be a cartoon, Ritchie’s film is a groovy piece of jazz that’s hopelessly in search of a decent rhythm. Solo, by far the best character here, is emblematic of a movie that is all mood and no meat. Riffing on the broad-shouldered boy scout charm he brought to Superman in the wretched Man of Steel, Cavill delights in playing the super-spy that James Bond hopes to be when he grows up, but his bluster isn’t enough to overpower the dull dialogue that Ritchie and Lionel Wigram’s script forces into his mouth. Hammer, meanwhile – the Boris to Cavill’s Bullwinkle – is playing a Cold War stereotype written in sky writing.

For a film that started its life as a Steven Soderbergh / George Clooney vehicle, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is pretty close to the work those two collaborators would have probably generated -- as this is very much a film in the spirit of the Oceans franchise. It is one of those rare birds that manages to take the source material and do right by its predecessor, while having its own fun creating a unique avenue of enjoyment. The chemistry between the three leads is magnificent, and the film doesn’t run so much as glide through its entirety; taking you, the audience, along for the ride. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a ride well worth the price of admission, and a fun closing act to this year’s summer season. Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The only thought likely to stick with you following a viewing of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” will concern the question of where and why Henry Cavill has been hiding his charm these past few years. Not only does the typically stony star reveal a new channel of charisma playing smooth-as-velvet CIA Agent Napoleon Solo, but he accepts the responsibility of keeping Guy Ritchie’s espionage venture alive. For this endeavor, we owe to Cavill about as much gratitude as the American public did to Solo for his labor toward international harmony at the summit of the Cold War: A fat lot of good it did in the grand scheme of things, but the effort was commendable. Rating: C+

The Upside: Hammer, Cavill, and Vikander are a charming trio; about as straightforward as a story can get; the score is dripping in cool; playful action; Elizabeth Debicki is a radiant villain; more adventures with these characters are welcomed; Hugh Grant helps liven up the dry spots.

The Downside: The second act isn’t as exciting as the rest of the film; the exposition is a bit much at times.

On The Side: Steven Soderbergh was once set to direct with George Clooney pegged to play Napoleon Solo. Rating: B

Set against the backdrop of the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” centers on CIA agent Solo and KGB agent Kuryakin. Forced to put aside longstanding hostilities, the two team up on a joint mission to stop a mysterious international criminal organization, which is bent on destabilizing the fragile balance of power through the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technology. The duo’s only lead is the daughter of a vanished German scientist, who is the key to infiltrating the criminal organization, and they must race against time to find him and prevent a worldwide catastrophe.