Directed by Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sherlock Holmes, Snatch) and starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, Stardust, Immortals, Tristan + Isolde, Red Riding Hood), Armie Hammer (The Social Network, J. Edgar, Mirror Mirror: The Untold Adventures of Snow White, The Lone Ranger), Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina, Testament of Youth, The Fifth Estate, A Royal Affair) and Hugh Grant (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, About a Boy, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Love Actually, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain).

Action comedy; 116 mins; 12+

The large screen adaptation of the 1960s hugely popular British tv series which ran for four years starring Robert Vaughn as Napoleon Solo, a American agent, and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin, a Soviet agent, who were brought together to work for the United Network Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) and who fought mainly evil villains from Thrush. Easily recognisable by its catchy sountrack and clever dialogue and witty retorts, the series caught the imagination of tv viewers during the height of the Cold War. While the film is set in the same period (as the tv series), in some ways it is kind of timeless as, apart from CheckPoint Charlie featuring early on, it could equally be set today.

With Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill taking over the lead roles of Illya Kuryakin and Napoleon Solo respectively, the plot involves a mechanic, Gaby (Alicia Vikander) in East Berlin, who they recruit to search for her father, a nuclear scientist, who has been recruited by a mysterious criminal organisation with sinster intentions regarding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Her character then becomes a foil off which the two main male characters bounce and react. Also involved in the storyline is Waverly (Hugh Grant) a senior operative in the British Secret Service, with them all meeting up and cavorting on screen in Rome. The two leads spend half their time as rivals and the other half helping each other; a strand mix. But it definitely works.

While the large screen adaptation does not really showcase the array of gadgets that was one of the trademarks of the original tv series, it certainly does have the quick-tempo scenes particularly when Solo and Kuryakin are being chased or are doing the chasing. And when they are not doing either, Solo is being light-fingered yet suave and charming, not unlike a certain James Bond, and Kuryakin is being awkward around Gaby in particular. The director does a great job in keeping the audience entertained though superb comic timing and witty banter through the dialogue delivery.

Turning back to the action sequences, the split-screen effects were very clever but some were just too fast and blurred as a result. On the other hand, the car chases involved an array of different vehicles, with the off-road scenes towards the end being significantly spectacular thanks to the addition of helicopter shots to create a panorama effect.

A lighter shade of Bond. Definitely worth seeing, irrespective of whether you watched the original tv series.