The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (6/10): Visually stunning but lacking substance.

“America teaming up with Russia. That doesn't sound very friendly.”

In-between his work with the Sherlock Holmes franchise, Guy Ritchie has decided to adapt The Man from U.N.C.L.E., a TV series that aired in the mid 60’s during the height of the Cold War. In a year where we were already getting the releases of the James Bond and Mission Impossible franchises it was quite a risk and one that didn’t pay off as well as it could have. In order for the film to stand out from these and other similar spy thrillers, Ritchie put the emphasis on the style giving the film a unique and cool 60’s look. Unfortunately the film doesn’t have the substance to go along with the style. There are not many thrills, the villains in this movie are forgettable, and the pacing at times becomes monotonous. The style however is so invigorating and cool that it deserves to be seen for its visual appeal alone. It doesn’t hurt that you have the likes of Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, and Alicia Vikander in the lead roles, all actors who undoubtedly benefit from the stylish fashion of the film. More mature audiences might enjoy the film for its nostalgic and retro value, but most were probably not around that time to be familiar with it. In order to stand out from other spy films it needed a unique approach, and that is what we get from Ritchie here, but at the same time it was also its downfall because the film became all about style leaving it with very little substance.

   

The story takes place in the 60’s during the Cold War as two secret agents are trying to locate the daughter of a German scientist in hopes of finding her father that has gone missing. CIA agent, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) gets to her first at her garage shop in  West Germany. Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) hasn’t seen her father in decades, but Solo offers his help to get her out of the country and set up a meeting with her uncle so they can find him. He believes that the Nazi’s are holding him captive and forcing him to build an atomic bomb. While they are trying to escape, Solo discovers he is being followed by a mysterious man who we soon discover is a KGB operative. Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) tries to intercept them before they escape and the two turn out to be an equal match. Solo barely escapes with Gaby thanks to the help of his team who are awaiting them. Later on, he is being briefed by his superior, Sanders (Jared Harris) where he is informed that he is going to be teaming up with Illya to go to Rome with Gaby to search for clues of her father’s whereabouts. Neither of the agents are pleased with having to work with one another after having nearly tried to kill each other, but that is where most of the fun comes from for the audience. It is basically the origin story of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Thanks to its unique style the film stands out from other thrillers, but I’d still recommend Rogue Nation over this. The cast here is great and they have an incredible chemistry. The story borderlines on conventions since you have your typical buddy comedy where two opposite characters are forced together and a bromance ensues. The spy elements aren’t very exciting here although there is one great action sequence involving a chase through an island in the final act of the film that looks stunning. The comedy works, but the thrills don’t as much, so even Spy is a better bet in that department. The cast makes this a much more fun experience than it should’ve been. Cavill and Hammer play off each other extremely well. I still think Hammer is a talented actor, but he hasn’t been able to prove himself after that stellar duo performance in The Social Network. Alicia Vikander is always a treat to watch and despite not getting to do much she always delivers her characteristic charm. If you want to see her in a better film than you need to see Ex-Machina. Hugh Grant also delivers quite a surprisingly charming supporting performance and there are a few twists in this film that kept me interested. Other than that this film is a bit forgettable but still an entertaining ride. Ritchie still hasn’t been able to match the success of his earlier works, but he still delivers a unique visual style of his own.  

My Review: The Lone Ranger (4/10)

"There come a time, when good man must wear mask."

Teaming up Gore Verbinski with Johnny Depp and several others from the crew that brought us The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise seemed like a great idea for The Lone Ranger, but unfortunately the magic was gone here in what is in my opinion the biggest disappointment in the Summer box office this year. The film was a huge failure for the following reasons: I don't tend to complain about long movies, but this film felt to drag forever with so many unnecessary elements and so many senseless action scenes. The lead roles were disappointing despite how much I love Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, but I think the main issue had to do with the screenplay. They made the Lone Ranger look like such a weak and silly character that it was really hard to sympathize with him. Johnny Depp plays his silly self once again and I think he goes a little to overboard with the wackiness of his character. It works sometimes (like it did with John Sparrow), but here it fails. The comedy in this film didn't really work either, I found most of the jokes a bit recycled. As much as I wanted to enjoy this movie, I couldn't manage to get hooked with the story or its characters. The only moments were I felt moved was during the climatic action scene at the end where they used the familiar soundtrack of the TV series. The nostalgic factor appealed to me there, but it wasn't enough. At the end my favorite character ended up being the horse, Silver. That sort of sums it all.

As for the plot, fans of the series will be familiar with the story. Johnny Depp is Tonto, a Comanche during the late 1800's, who is narrating the story of his encounter with the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) to a little boy (Mason Elston Cook) who finds him at a museum. Tonto explains how he ran into this man through a series of flashbacks. He basically finds John Reid (the Lone Ranger) dead after he and seven other Texas Rangers were ambushed by the fugitive, Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and his gang. Tonto believes that John is a Spirit Walker and that he's been chosen by the white spirit horse to bring justice back to the land. That explains why John is alive and Tonto convinces him to wear the mask and become the Lone Ranger. Together they decide to bring Cavendish to justice and restore order to the west. Tom WIlkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, and Barry Pepper all play supporting roles. 

I'm a fan of westerns and enjoy the cinematography these films usually have. Many people have said that the genre is dying, but there have been some exceptional westerns lately. I hope The Lone Ranger isn't the film that ends up definitely burying the genre, because it does everything wrong here. First of all the macho hero is missing; with all the action this film desperately needed one! Despite the great cinematography the film felt as dry as the desert scenes. There were so many unnecessary subplots going on that the film seemed to diverge and go into all directions. It just felt really chaotic and it is a pity because I really wanted to like The Lone Ranger for what the character has meant to past generations. Unfortunately this was an unnecessarily long pointless film. You might be better off if you just wait and watch the final 15 minutes of the film that actually feel more like the TV series.

My Review: J. Edgar (6/10)

¨Do I kill everything that I love? ¨

J. Edgar is Clint Eastwood`s latest biopic that tells the story of Edgar Hoover`s life and how he created the FBI during a span of over fifty years. Hoover was a very controversial character, some people hated him and others loved him, but Eastwood doesn’t take any sides; he simply allows us to judge his work for ourselves showing us the good and the bad. Hoover didn’t have an idealistic life either; Eastwood also focuses on his personal life and exposes some of his secrets. The film was written by Dustin Lance Black, who also wrote the Oscar nominated biopic: Milk, but unlike in that movie, this time the story suffers from a very slow pace. The weakest thing about J. Edgar is truly its pacing. The subject matter is just so wide that the movie fails to focus on just one particular detail and tries to mash everything together with a series of numerous flashbacks. There were some very interesting moments during the story, but they were just too far spread out and most of the film was really a bore to sit through. I wish the film would have focused more on just one or two aspects instead of trying to include such a broad range. By trying to show everything that went on in Edgar`s life, we truly end up not knowing much. This movie suffers from the typical case of trying to say so much that you end up not saying anything at all. The film should of focused on a much shorter time period (let’s say the Lindbergh case for example which was probably the most interesting part of the film) instead of covering all the specific details. The highlights of this film however are the performance from Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, and the art direction which is just beautiful (like in every Eastwood film).

As for the story, the movie begins with an older version of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) narrating his memories to one of the agents and telling him to write his memoirs. It was during the communist hunt that J. Edgar found the opportunity to tighten his grip in the law enforcement agency and make important arrests after several communist revolutions began taking place across several major cities in the US. Hoover was completely dedicated to his job and slowly began building what today we know as the FBI. He had a very awkward social behavior, and very few friends. They called him Speedy for the way he talked, and he was very close to his mother (Judi Dench), to whom he looked up too all the time for advice. He trusted very few people, one of them was his personal secretary Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts) and the other his right hand man and personal assistant, Agent Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), with whom he had a secret love affair despite the fact that he tried to deny it and hide it. After the witch hunt was over with, Hoover`s attention shifted to arresting important gangsters and mafia groups, and in doing so he slowly began to build the Bureau. He had secret personal files on every United States president he served under, whether it was Roosevelt or Kennedy. The true highlight of the film and the turning point for the Agency`s autonomy came with the Lindbergh case which received a lot of media attention after a child was kidnapped from his own home. Hoover used this case to build prestige for the Bureau and create a fingerprint database of every citizen in order to solve crimes easier. He built the Federal Bureau of Investigation and this is how he did it.

One of the most distracting things about J. Edgar is the makeup. Some of the actors really looked bad when they had to play older versions of themselves (Armie Hammer above all). They should`ve stuck with hiring older actors to play those roles because the makeup really didn’t work. It was awful. Leonardo DiCaprio does save this movie however, from being bad thanks to a great performance. He deserved an Oscar nomination, but I guess the film just wasn’t good enough. Armie Hammer also was great in his supporting role, but his makeup when playing an older version of himself distracted us from his true performance. The rest of the supporting cast just doesn’t have enough time to shine on screen, with the exception of Judi Dench who is as brilliant as usual. Naomi Watts did have plenty of screen time, but she really didn’t have a memorable performance. I`d have to say that J. Edgar is one of Eastwood`s weakest films, but I am still a huge fan of his work and wish him the best in his upcoming projects. The subject matter in this film is interesting, but the pacing is just poorly done. I recommend it only for DiCaprio or Eastwood fans although I wouldn’t be watching this film a second time.

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