The Man From UNCLE movie

Edward · Mar 17, 2018

I saw it on a plane a year or two ago. For me it really succeeded because it captured the spirit of the original, didn't try to update it, and built on the humour of the original but without trying to turn it into an out and out comedy where the original had not been. I think too because the original was radical enough to have a key Soviet character that wasn't either a villain, simple, counter-revolutionary, two-dimensional or all of the above (wasn't Red Heat the next time we saw that?), they found it easy not to fall into a trap of either making it too knowing or anachronistic about a lot of these issues.

Benzadmiral · Mar 19, 2018

Seb Lucas said:
I saw it the other day. It was engaging, witty and inventive. I was surprised, because all the other films spun from TV shows have been, to my idea, complete dreck.

So many have been garbage. The Addams Family films, at least the first one, were good adaptations with the right spirit and funny to boot. But so many others -- 21 Jump Street, Starsky and Hutch, Dark Shadows, and I Spy, I'm looking at you -- turned the original concepts into comedies. "Giving the old shows a new spin," is the Hollywood explanation. But the new spin leaves out all the qualities that made the shows fresh and original, and popular, in their own time.

The MfU 2015 film avoided that. Thank you, Guy Ritchie.

PeterGunnLives · Mar 21, 2018

I would include "The Green Hornet" movie with Seth Rogen in the category of comedic remake-dreck.

Doctor Strange · Mar 21, 2018

The irony of this discussion to me is that I strongly disliked the UNCLE film... precisely because I didn't think it worked as an homage to the original show - or "the sixties" - AT ALL. I seem immune to all the things you guys liked about it. I'm not sure why I didn't take to it... though the fact that I have hated nearly all of Guy Ritchie's other films may apply.

And while I certainly agree that most of these old TV shows redone as films are terrible, put me down as a rare Dark Shadows fan who liked Tim Burton's film. Yes, it's a broad comedy... but how many times have they revisited this series as a dead-serious revival or feature film and had it fail? Sure, it's quite silly, but you could see that it was coming from a place of real affection and respect for a (let's face it) outlandish spook opera.

scottyrocks · Mar 21, 2018

The only part of Starsky and Hutch (2004) I enjoyed was the appearance of David Soul and Paul Michael-Glaser at the end.

I hated that they (Stiller and Wilson) destroyed the car, and the way they abused it, in general.

AmateisGal · Mar 23, 2018

I love this movie! A lot of it probably has to do with Henry Cavil, though...

I've never seen the original Man from U.N.C.L.E. tv shows, so I can't comment on how faithful it is to the characters. But I've watched it several times now and always enjoy it.

Benzadmiral · Mar 23, 2018

AmateisGal said:
I love this movie! A lot of it probably has to do with Henry Cavil, though...

I've never seen the original Man from U.N.C.L.E. tv shows, so I can't comment on how faithful it is to the characters. But I've watched it several times now and always enjoy it.

Melissa,

In some senses the new Solo and new Illya are in the spirit of the originals. Both Solos are dark-haired, well-dressed, rather Cary Grant-ish; both Illyas are blond and dress more casually. Looking at the poster or any group of stills from the film with the two of them in it, a fan of the TV series would say, "Gee, they remind me of Solo and Illya!" So in that sense they are faithful. It's that Guy Ritchie's take gave them very different backgrounds from the series (though in fairness the TV show didn't go into that much detail on their pasts).

Here is one of the very best of the original episodes. It features a tricky Mission: Impossible con-game plot (2 years before M:I premiered), memorable dialogue, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (2 years before Star Trek), and Werner Klemperer playing a dramatic role.

Dailymotion.com has others if you search for "Man from Uncle Old TV Shows." I recommend another on there called "The Finny Foot Affair," which features Kurt Russell, age 12!

Benzadmiral · Mar 23, 2018

PeterGunnLives said:
I would include "The Green Hornet" movie with Seth Rogen in the category of comedic remake-dreck.

I haven't any desire to see it. Seth Rogen as the masked crimefighter the Green Hornet? No. Just, no.

One video on the 'Net that I've seen uses the Al Hirt theme and various shots of the Hornet's car, Black Beauty, in superb ways. If only the film had played it straight!

3fingers · Mar 23, 2018

That is one tough Imperial.

scottyrocks · Mar 24, 2018

Benzadmiral said:
Melissa,

In some senses the new Solo and new Illya are in the spirit of the originals. Both Solos are dark-haired, well-dressed, rather Cary Grant-ish; both Illyas are blond and dress more casually. Looking at the poster or any group of stills from the film with the two of them in it, a fan of the TV series would say, "Gee, they remind me of Solo and Illya!" So in that sense they are faithful. It's that Guy Ritchie's take gave them very different backgrounds from the series (though in fairness the TV show didn't go into that much detail on their pasts).

Here is one of the very best of the original episodes. It features a tricky Mission: Impossible con-game plot (2 years before M:I premiered), memorable dialogue, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (2 years before Star Trek), and Werner Klemperer playing a dramatic role.

Dailymotion.com has others if you search for "Man from Uncle Old TV Shows." I recommend another on there called "The Finny Foot Affair," which features Kurt Russell, age 12!

This was fun to watch, in its own semi-campy MFU way.

I actually laughed out loud when 'Col. Klink' called 'Mr. Spock' a fool.

Edward · Mar 26, 2018

scottyrocks said:
The only part of Starsky and Hutch (2004) I enjoyed was the appearance of David Soul and Paul Michael-Glaser at the end.

I hated that they (Stiller and Wilson) destroyed the car, and the way they abused it, in general.

It's a long time since I saw the original show, but I don't seem to remember the car being treated with great reverence in that either.

Benzadmiral · Mar 26, 2018

3fingers said:
That is one tough Imperial.

I've always wondered who would do the maintenance and repair on the Black Beauty. Perhaps Britt Reid has a full-time mechanic/body shop tech on staff? And the Batmobile, too, though I seem to recall an Animated Series episode focusing on the guy that Bruce took the Batmobile to for all its work.

PeterGunnLives · Mar 26, 2018

Benzadmiral said:
I've always wondered who would do the maintenance and repair on the Black Beauty. Perhaps Britt Reid has a full-time mechanic/body shop tech on staff? And the Batmobile, too, though I seem to recall an Animated Series episode focusing on the guy that Bruce took the Batmobile to for all its work.

Yes, I just watched that animated episode a couple weeks ago!

The mechanic had actually been an engineer for a prominent manufacturing company (or something), and unfortunately he lost his job and was pretty much blacklisted from the industry because of blowing the whistle on some safety issues. Batman appreciated his integrity and had him design/build the latest version of the Batmobile and do continued maintenance work on it.

scottyrocks · Mar 26, 2018

Edward said:
It's a long time since I saw the original show, but I don't seem to remember the car being treated with great reverence in that either.

That's true, but it wasn't abused in the TV show with such campy 'glee' as it was in the movie.

Edward · Mar 27, 2018

scottyrocks said:
That's true, but it wasn't abused in the TV show with such campy 'glee' as it was in the movie.

I think they hammed up Starsky's attachment to the car more in this so as to create a point of difference. I don't really remember there being such a distinct 'odd couple' feel about the characters in the original show - no more so than in, say, Cagney and Lacey, at least.

scottyrocks · Mar 28, 2018

Edward said:
I think they hammed up Starsky's attachment to the car more in this so as to create a point of difference. I don't really remember there being such a distinct 'odd couple' feel about the characters in the original show - no more so than in, say, Cagney and Lacey, at least.

I was a big fan of the show back in the '70s. I'd say the TV show's reference points were definitely ramped up for the movie, as seems to be the style these days when reviving old TV shows for movies. To me, it almost seems like they're making fun of the original due to its mediocrity in the first place.

Edward · Mar 28, 2018

There's definitely an element of it. The first few of these things which took the old shows and gave them a comedy premise were a lot of fun - Charlies Angels did it well, and I actually liked the S&H one too. Others, it felt a bit lazy-formula. I remember it being refreshing when they did The A Team, and played it straight.

MikeKardec · Apr 1, 2018

In my opinion the comedy or 'over the top remake' is an attempt to create some ironic distance from dated material. It's an indication of writers or executives afraid of being embarrassed by their efforts but who feel constrained by audience expectations. That or they are not talented enough to take a serious (or seriously funny) look at old material and make it new. However, we've been seeing some great work revitalizing material from the comics world so it's obvious that it can be done and done well.

I liked UNCLE, it was an utter festival for a car guy ... until the crummy Land Rover off road chase appeared. Unbelievable.

Edward · Apr 2, 2018

MikeKardec said:
In my opinion the comedy or 'over the top remake' is an attempt to create some ironic distance from dated material.

Certainly sometimes necessary; I actually thought they employed humour quite well in the Dukes of Hazzard big screen outing in a way which allowed them to keep the car as it was without (ironically, through referencing it) becoming embroiled in the controversy around the CSA battleflag which covered the roof.

PeterGunnLives · Apr 2, 2018

When I studied TV production in college, I found that stupid humor was the easiest format to do. So when I see a movie or TV show that is filled with it, I feel like it's kind of a lazy cop-out because they couldn't be bothered to put a little more work into something serious.

The Man From UNCLE movie

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