BLU-RAY REVIEW: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
11/16/2015

OVERVIEW: Danger has never seemed so alluring when “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD. Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”) stars as Napoleon Solo opposite Armie Hammer (“The Social Network”) as Illya Kuryakin in director Guy Ritchie’s action adventure “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” a fresh take on the hugely popular 1960s television series. “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on November 17. The film will also be available early on Digital HD on October 27.

SYNOPSIS: 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.

FILM REVIEW: 

Illya Kuryakin: Napoleon Solo, the CIA's most effective agent.
Napoleon Solo: Illya Kurakin: KGB, the youngest member to join and pass in three years.

What a team and what a ride! This is a fun movie with a good amount of action and thrills.

Napoleon Solo: [to his driver] Are they still following us?... Is there one of them?... Is he looking at us?... Does he have just one hand on the steering wheel?... When you hear something that sounds like a gunshot, drive.

A very good way to describe this film in one word would have to be vintage . . . and classy, yeah vintage and classy, okay so that's two words. Oh yeah, there's also the word espionage. Yes this is 1960s style espionage at its best. You could almost call it a period piece. One of the most special aspects of this movie is the whole 1960s look and feel. From the sets to the cars, the characters and their demeanor to the wardrobe, you are transported to that time. Having the story take place in Europe really accentuates all the 60s details. Now keep in mind that this film is based on a TV show of the same name that aired during the 60s. So you might find it a little corny or silly like an original Get Smart episode or an early James Bond film. However, if you go into it prepared, you'll be just fine. The movie really is quite entertaining.

Waverly: For a special agent, you're not having a very special day, are you?

Now when I mentioned about them being a great team, well let's just say that it was an arduous journey to get to the great team status. Things don't automatically go their way in general, plus they're dealing with the animosity between them. After all, this is the 60s and it's a Russian agent working together with a U.S. agent. Their relationship at best is tense, and that's exactly what the story calls for. Both Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer did an excellent job with their roles. Actually, hmmm, is this an unofficial Superman vs. The Lone Ranger then? Henry was really good at being debonair, confident, and talented. Armie nailed the old mother Russia tough guy agent who would rather shoot first and ask questions later. I was very impressed with his accent in this role as well, quite convincing. Another standout performance in this film was delivered by Alicia Vikander. She did a good job of giving us a character that is sexy and demure yet at the same time tough and feisty. Another positive aspect of the film is its effective cinematography. The various camera angles and filming locations were well used. These positive aspects help us overcome the very typical storyline. I mean it just doesn’t faze me because the rest of the movie is so well done. Director Guy Ritchie successfully honored this old TV show. Directing a film of this nature is right up his alley and you can tell that it is by viewing the end product. Again, this is most probably not the best “spy movie” you’ve ever seen, but it does fully accomplish what it was meant to accomplish in a fun way.

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Latin Spanish, Canadian French, Brazilian Portuguese

Subtitles - English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Brazilian Portuguese

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

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