New "Man from UNCLE" ain't a bad flick

By Otto

I went to see the Man From UNCLE and it was an enjoyable romp. But spoiler alert: it has little to do with the old TV show except they use the names of Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill),  Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) and Mr. Waverly (Hugh Grant).

It is also set in the 1960s cold war and out side of their new side kick, Gaby (Alicia Vikander) who doesn't like living in East Germany, there is almost nothing political about the story. It is more of a meeting of two opposites.

Solo is funny at times as a former crook who was hired by the CIA to avoid being sent to jail for his role in a stolen art work ring.

'He tore off the trunk of my car,' Solo protests to his boss after being asked why he couldn't handle the spy he chased in East German, who he would later know to be Illya.

Illya is a superhuman developed by the KGB as a super spy. His deep dark secret is that his father was involved in illegal profiteering. His father is a disgrace and he is always trying to make good on the family name.  

The girl, Gaby, is a sidekick and a lynch pin to the whole movie. She provides the suspense as we wonder "is she one of us or one of them."

I like that the movie. It has some chase scenes, one complete with a machine gun firing bad guy who can't hit the side of a barn with a full clip of ammo (standard in most of these action flicks). But they are both clever with secrets as to how they can steal important nuclear bomb plans and open safes with expert techniques.

I generally hate action movies with constant bad guys that can't hit a simple target or constant unnecessary chase scenes. This is way better than a dozen car chases or six different bad guys getting burned with an incendiary bombs over and over again.

The plot is enough to keep the movie going and the character development keeps it from getting dull.

The bad guy is actually a woman, Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki), and she is really good in her role. I'm getting to like the evil temptress villain who just happens to be a woman.

I could go on but I don't want to give away anymore of the plot.

It's fluff, but it's fun and worth the admission ticket.