The Man From U.N.C.L.E

 It's kind of obvious when you think about it: who better to direct a frothy Bond-like spy movie than Guy fucking Ritchie? After Sherlock Holmes's unlikely success divorced him from both his grittier, street-level crime comedies and the twin debacle of Swept Away and Revolver, he finally got his chance at it when he was offered a script that had been in development hell for more than twenty years - an adaptation of a 60's TV series that had been previously attached to Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino and Matthew Vaughn.

 I don't think I ever watched a single episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E, but its reruns were an eternal presence on TV while growing up (enough for a popular local band to call themselves after one of its characters).

 This modern adaptation's plot concerns two excellently named spies - the smug, suave, sophisticated Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and the uptight, violent Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) forced to work together along with an East German mechanic (Alicia Vikander) who is connected to a man with the potential to shatter world peace.

 The script (by Lionel Wigram and Ritchie) follows the expected trajectory - the two are antagonists at first, then bicker constantly as they grudgingly come to respect each other. It doesn't place much weight in plausibility (the villains end up being Nazis, for fuck's sake); This is firmly in the world-hopping, light entertainment camp of spy fiction: Ridiculously attractive, competent people charming and shooting their way through a conspiracy mostly set among 1963's Rome jet set society.

 Wry humour and competence porn are the order of the day, epitomized by the film's first-rate kick-off, a busy, exciting, and often hilarious exfiltration across the Berlin Wall that at one point has Illya chasing a car on foot, Terminator 2 style, and catching up to it and start dismantling it with his hands to establish just how badass his character is. Amazing.

 Plot is largely a formality; It's all about the characters, who are ridiculous but well thought out, funny, and bounce of each other in interesting ways. And sometimes, that's enough, especially when the surfaces are kept as carefully as they are here. Ritchie's slightly toned-down directing style fits the material well, injecting some well-made split frames on some of the action but mostly keeping the excesses limited. He flexes his formidable talents to keep the pace relentlessly bouncing forward instead. The Cinematography by John Mathieson is excellent, with a slightly de-saturated, kodachrome-like palette that only enhances the natural beauty of the summery Rome-set seaside locations on the film's back half. 

 Most of all, it's the actors. Cavill's outsized looks and charisma are a natural fit for a Bond figure, Armie Hammer's intensity works extremely well for his role, and Vikander is ridiculously good, as always, in a role that's quite unlike anything she's done since. How is this woman not a bigger star?

 Elsewhere Elizabeth Debicki cuts an imposing figure as the film's sophisticated villain, and Hugh Grant has a tiny, welcome role where he steals most of the film's best lines with his characteristic wry delivery.

 It's a hugely enjoyable film - lightweight by design but anchored with some fun action scenes, led by that initial chase across cold-war Berlin and quickly followed by a bathroom brawl which features a huge amount of destruction to the premises, as is right and proper (no porcelain was harmed during the shot, which results in a few points deducted.

 There's some romance to accompany the developing bromance, and it's disarmingly sweet - a good contrast to Solo's more callous Bond-style conquests. Possibly my favorite nod to Risky Business.

 Unfortunately the film noticeably runs out of steam towards the end, particularly with a pointless climactic vehicle chase that drags on forever and a fairly prosaic wrap-up to the whole affair. Ritchie also has a tendency to retread older scenes adding new information throughout, which becomes a little tiresome especially when those scenes only happened a few minutes ago.

 That might be something from the show? I have no idea how much the film lifts from its inspiration, aside from the premise and affection for the characters, but there are a couple of scenes - particularly the unveiling of a vehicle for that last, disappointing chase - that seem like they must be referencing something on the show.

 As weak as the final act is, the unfulfilled promise of a sequel is as maddening now as it was nine years ago. This is a far better take on the less serious branch of spy fiction than any recent Bond installment or any of the Mission Impossibles (whose star, Tom Cruise, was attached to star as Solo; That would have been a completely different, and maybe not as interesting, movie). Oh well.