Director Guy Ritchie starts off with a wonderful, very highly stylized car chase. From that moment on I pinned my hopes that the whole film would be just as good as this sequence. It ends up turning into rather a bumpy ride between plot highs..and plot lows..making it an overall fun, but uneven film.
Henry Cavill as ‘Napoleon Solo’ and Armie Hammer as ‘Illya Kuryakin‘ are the dymanic spy duo coming from differing enemy camps – Solo being from the CIA and Kuryakin respectively, the KGB, who must work together along with help from German/car whiz girl mechanic/possible double agent (maybe even triple we’re not sure) ‘Gaby Teller’ (Alicia Vikander) to battle the forces of mysterious and evil criminal organization – The Vinciguerra Empire – a rogue Italian group of ex-Nazi loyalists ran by “Victoria Vinciguerra” (Elizabeth Delbecki) & her husband “Alexander” (Luca Calvani). The goal is to uncover the plot to stop them from obtaining and detonating a nuclear bomb.
Following a fairly standard formula for spy plots that involves good guys vs. bad guys to save the world, here Ritchie throws intrigue to the back burner and instead ramps up the charm and personality of his characters. Each one has their own unique set of traits which set them apart, yet it also brings them perfectly together to create the type of “spy team” with palpable chemistry that works all the way around and delivers to us a most entertaining ride.
Add in the always witty and charming delivery of Hugh Grant, Jared Harris and Misha Kuznetsov in their respective roles as head of differing agencies and you can’t beat the overall fun that they dish out. 
As with any film of this genre, my motto of ‘your only as good as your villains’ once again applies as I did find those being the only characters the lacking the charm and chemistry of their counterparts, though still stylish, just missing what is truly needed to a baddie, the ability to still like them even though they are the villains.
Ending with the perfect setup for a sequel, I do hope the wonderful stylization remains as do the characters, though with a bit better plot and new villains as it could prove that a sequel might even turn out to be better than an original.
Grade: C
@pegsatthemovies
Screening: Arclight Hollywood – Wednesday, August 12, 2015 – Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Opens Nationwide: Friday, August 14, 2015
Peggy at the Movies 
We’ll likely see this one tomorrow. I have pretty low expectations so I only hope it’s fun.
Jay… it’s loads of fun..and such good style and panache..it will make up for lack of plot storyline.. entertaining for sure.. Bond..no..it’s not.:)
Was really looking forward to this and hoping it would be a fun movie at the very least. Looks like it is, but with more flaws than I wanted; at least Alicia Vikander is getting more exposure, as she was great in Ex Machina. I’ll probably see this after Straight outta Compton and The Gift (surprisingly good reviews!).
As you know I didn’t Vikander was WOW in Ex Machina..she did impress me in Testament of Youth and she is fun here..The three leads have great chemistry so while the story might be lacking some..they make it fun. and it’s so stylish. I liked Straight Outta Compton (read review) and I liked the effort of Joel Egerton doing acting/writing/directing on The Gift, and I liked it..but very predictable for me. Def. worth a see. 🙂
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a pleasant refreshment. It’s not the most urgent story you’ll see at the multiplex this year but it is entertaining.
exactly!! entertaining..and I thought so stylish..I loved that part of it. 😀