Review: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Ltd Ed 4K UHD
Based on the 1960s series of the same name The Man from U.N.C.L.E. directed and written by Guy Ritchie, so right away you know you’re in for a quirky film, and unfortunately Guy Ritchie is VERY hit’n miss with his movies. This one is firmly in the middle.
Henry Cavill (Napoleon Solo and 60MW Dave’s mate) replaced Tom Cruise in the part and I think if he’d stayed this would have been too similar to a Mission Impossible.
Playing Illya Kurakin is Armie Hammer, who has since suffered a career death equal only to Kevin Spacey. Accused of being a cannibal (huh?) and of sexual abuse, he was never convicted of any crime yet has been abscent from our screens since 2021 because of this (which makes me wonder how Polanski and Allen have remained active). And that’s a shame because in all truth, Hammer is the best thing in this film, hardly concealing his Russian rage making his character…more believable than the others.
The story is ok, your usual 60s spy caper- great costumes and…Italy, but it’s all just fluff. Now there’s nothing wrong with fluff, but this is very expensive fluff and despite all the acting and locations, it’s too much like so many other 60s swinging spy capers.
Perhaps it would have been better if Jason Statham was in it?
I often wonder how film distribution companies decide on which films to buy and release on 4kUHD, there are so many films out there crying for a 4K new release (Near Dark). So, looks good, but essentially fluff.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10/compatible)
- Original lossless Dolby Atmos sound
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
- The Hollywood Way – brand new interview with co-writer/producer Lionel Wigram
- A Lineage of Bad Guys – brand new interview with actor Luca Calvani
- Legacy of U.N.C.L.E. – brand new featurette celebrating the original 1960s TV series and its influence on the 2015 movie, featuring Helen McCarthy, David Flint and Vic Pratt
- Cockneys and Robbers – brand new featurette exploring director Guy Ritchie’s oeuvre, featuring Kat Hughes, Hannah Strong and Josh Saco
- Spy Vision: Recreating 60s Cool, A Higher Class of Hero, Metisse Motorcycles: Proper and Very British, The Guys from U.N.C.L.E. and A Man of Extraordinary Talents – five archival featurettes exploring the making of the film
- U.N.C.L.E.: On-Set Spy – four archival, bite-sized featurettes going behind the scenes on the film set
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
- Double-sided fold-out poster, featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Barry Forshaw, and a reprinted article from CODEX Magazine on the film’s cinematography
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dare Creative
Release Date: 29th July 2024 and available to pre-order.
Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Arrow Films.
