7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In the early 1960s, a CIA agent and a KGB operative participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization.
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca CalvaniAction | 100% |
Adventure | 67% |
Dark humor | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
"Christ, I miss the cold war!" cursed Judi Dench's M, in a moment of frustration in Casino Royale. Apparently so does Hollywood, because it keeps returning to that conflict for inspiration. The Cold War-era TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., ran for four seasons on NBC from 1964-1968 and featured a wish-fulfilling scenario in which an American agent and his Russian partner cooperated in the pursuit of justice under the umbrella of an international organization. Just as the show was inspired by the James Bond franchise, the agents' usual nemesis was based on Bond's adversary in the early films. Known as "THRUSH", it was a SPECTRE-like organization that spanned the globe and held to no ideology other than its own power and supremacy. For almost twenty years, producer John Davis struggled to create a big-screen U.N.C.L.E. adaptation, commissioning over a dozen scripts, considering innumerable leads and attaching such major directors as Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh. But it was writer/director Guy Ritchie who finally cracked the puzzle by jettisoning much of the original U.N.C.L.E. story and returning Agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin to their roots, before the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement ever existed. Ritchie's film, which he co-wrote and co-produced with his partner from Sherlock Holmes and its sequel, Lionel Wigram, used The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s big-screen debut as an opportunity to provide an "origin story" for Solo, Kuryakin and their partnership in an organization that operates independently of all governments. The result isn't entirely successful, but it's strong enough to start a franchise, assuming someone can come up with a good story for a second film.
"Cowboy" and "Red Peril"
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was photographed by veteran British cinematographer John Mathieson (Gladiator, X-Men: First Class), and it is the first Guy Ritchie film to be shot entirely digitally. According to IMDb, Mathieson used primarily the Arri Alexa Plus, supplemented by several Canon models and a GoPro camera (probably for the chase scenes). Post-production was completed on a 2k digital intermediate, from which Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced by a direct digital path. U.N.C.L.E. is a film of visual extremes. The opening in East and West Berlin is dark and the surroundings are typically worn and threadbare. This only serves to intensify the contrast when the action shifts to Rome and the Vinciguerra estate, where the environment is luxurious and the cinematography becomes so bright that at times the image almost seems to have been bleached. Although Ritchie and Wigram cite Fellini's Rome as a visual inspiration, their film is more Peter Max than La Dolce Vita. Bright watercolor shades routinely appear in the frame, whether in clothing, decor, flowers or simply the banners displayed at the Vinciguerra's racetrack. Even the brief snack that Solo pauses to enjoy during a breather from a harrowing chase scene is blessed with appetizingly rich color. The Blu-ray provides this varied palette, while simultaneously maintaining solid blacks—essential for scenes of covert nighttime escapades—and holding whites at the proper level to convey Ritchie's idealized notion of the Italian sun without blowing out detail. (Note that, despite the detailed image, all of the main characters' faces are always attractive, even when cut and bruised; the makeup team must have worked overtime.) Warner has mastered U.N.C.L.E. with an average bitrate of 25.94 Mbps, and the compression appears to have been carefully performed.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos (core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless) soundtrack. This review pertains only to the 7.1 mix. In a scene with traditional action effects, such as the opening contest between Solo and Kuryakin, the mix is wonderfully active and immersive, surrounding the viewer with numerous sonic elements, including screeching tires, gunfire, collisions and various sounds of a foot chase in the street and through buildings. Other action scenes reflect a different approach. One of the more dramatic chases (I don't want to describe it specifically) has no sound effects but merely the Italian ballad, "Che Vuole Questa Musica Stasera?" performed by Peppino Gagliardi, which is first heard as source music on a radio but then expands into the entire sound array. The effect best captures the devil-may-care sensibility to which the entire film aspires, and it's the closest Ritchie comes to marrying the cheeky sensibility of his early films with the casual mockery of the original Man from U.N.C.L.E. When the 7.1 track isn't being dominated by one specific effect in this manner, it is almost always doing something interesting with the film's various environments, from a Formula One racetrack to a malfunctioning interrogation chamber. Dialogue in U.N.C.L.E. is always clear, despite the plethora of accents. The occasional Italian, German or Russian dialogue is translated by yellow subtitles that are variously stylized and placed in different portions of the screen. In addition to singles by such artists as Roberta Flack, Nina Simone and Louis Prima, the soundtrack consists of a jazzy score by Steve Pemberton (Cuban Fury), who has supplied several cues that will no doubt reappear in any future U.N.C.L.E. film.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is pretty to watch and fun while it lasts, but it's also forgettable the minute it ends. It feels like a long preamble to a film that is just getting started when the credits roll—and, indeed, the credits play over an interesting display of dossiers about the future members of the U.N.C.L.E. organization, containing much information not otherwise mentioned in the film. If a terrific sequel follows in a year or two, we may look back at this as a fitting chapter one, but for now it's still a question mark. As a technical matter, the Blu-ray is certainly above reproach.
2015
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