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

As if made for a trip to the forgotten local cinema, where Italian architecture, old-fashioned form, and a nostalgic soundtrack quickly immerse the viewer. It was Daniel Pemberton's music that transported me to the sixties right from the first notes because this love letter to the divine Ennio Morricone is no rip-off but, fortunately, an honest and completely accurate tribute. Surprisingly, Guy Ritchie remains on the same wave as Sherlock Holmes, but because in practice this mainly translates to deadly exchanges of dialogue between the main duo, I have no problem with that. It just could have used a few more viewers. With its unexpectedly poor turnout, the combination of Henry Cavill's elegance, Armie Hammer's stubbornness, and Alicia Vikander's charm does not bode well for a series. (20/08/2015)

The cool soundtrack saves an otherwise average spy story set in the days of The Berlin Wall. Pemberton is Morricone’s reincarnation. Ritchie has an incredible feel for music, but the catchy sixties hits were completely overshadowed by excellent instrumental music oscillating between western, spy genre and some weird ethno mix. The acting duo (Cavill, Hammer), trio (Alicia), quartet (Grant) is welcome, I wouldn’t turn down another adventure with them, with a bit more complex story of course. Some isolated scenes are actually genius (the snack in the car), but in general I expected just a little bit more. A fine chill. Noting more, nothing less. Damn. I left my jacket in the other room. (20/08/2015)

It was basically like a Bond film whose creators shamefully wasted the opportunity for witty dialogue. If they hadn’t, agent Solo wouldn’t have gotten on my nerves so much and agent Kurjakin might not have seemed like a Terminator with poor software. It could have been a great film if only Guy Ritchie hadn’t forgotten to put more zing into it. 4*- (23/07/2019)

A breezy and relaxing retro film with a very likeable cast (Armie Hammer, Henry Cavill, Elizabeth Debicki and Alicia Vikander), which, despite being labeled a comedy, has the kind of humour that makes you laugh internally. The interactions, and banter between the three main characters worked to a tee, as did the action scenes, of which there were plenty. A decently made genre mash-up with some good plot twists that manages to keep you both in suspense and mildly entertained. (02/08/2016)

I rooted for this film long before the private screening, cheered it for the stylish retro opening and was sympathising with Ritchie's visual imagery and breezy detachment even half an hour or so before the final credits rolled. But what up until then was a harmless play with various genre elements, where the diverse nature of the plot was still held together by the stylish form, the measured performances and the crushing pace, unfortunately transformed into a stale pictorial feast, which didn’t lack humour and plot drive, but all those disparate ingredients were now creaking and forming a standard hyper-stylish spy mess that doesn't offend and entertains at first, but in retrospect is dominated by a chaos with only a dim glimmer of genuinely funny lines or novel story motifs. 70% (20/11/2015)