For those complaining it was dull - I think the issue might be it successfully tried to invoke the feeling and optics of the original series. I have run across several people who think TV shows like I Spy, The Avengers, and The Man From UNCLE were/are dull because of the 60s style.
Having grown up with those shows, lying in bed at night and listening to my parents TV as they watched them, I love those shows. It's true they emphasized style and characters over action and many modern viewers don't care for that. But for shows like, for example, I Spy, the bantering and relationship between the leads was more important than whatever situation they found themselves in.
In the original The Man From UNCLE the relationship between the two wasn't as important as I Spy - they did rely more on episodic action and drama. But there still wasn't a lot of action.
I think this movie succeeded admirably in re-establishing the style of the original and, against my expectations, I enjoyed Armie Hammer's Illya Kuryakin and Cavill's ultra-smooth and suave Napoleon Solo.
All in all, I think this was a much more successful remake of a 60s series than, say, the dreadful 1998 The Avengers with Fiennes and Thurman.
This movie is beautifully shot, the dialog works for the most part, the two leads carry their parts well - almost, but never quite, sinking into parody.
The object of the mission, to stop a rogue group from getting a process that would allow them to easily enrich and weaponize fissionable material, really is secondary to the establishment of the male and female leads and building their relationships.
If you liked the original series, I don't think this is going to disappoint. If you didn't grow up on shows from the 60s, it very well might not - but not because it's a bad show.
On the whole, I liked it much better than I thought I would.
Having grown up with those shows, lying in bed at night and listening to my parents TV as they watched them, I love those shows. It's true they emphasized style and characters over action and many modern viewers don't care for that. But for shows like, for example, I Spy, the bantering and relationship between the leads was more important than whatever situation they found themselves in.
In the original The Man From UNCLE the relationship between the two wasn't as important as I Spy - they did rely more on episodic action and drama. But there still wasn't a lot of action.
I think this movie succeeded admirably in re-establishing the style of the original and, against my expectations, I enjoyed Armie Hammer's Illya Kuryakin and Cavill's ultra-smooth and suave Napoleon Solo.
All in all, I think this was a much more successful remake of a 60s series than, say, the dreadful 1998 The Avengers with Fiennes and Thurman.
This movie is beautifully shot, the dialog works for the most part, the two leads carry their parts well - almost, but never quite, sinking into parody.
The object of the mission, to stop a rogue group from getting a process that would allow them to easily enrich and weaponize fissionable material, really is secondary to the establishment of the male and female leads and building their relationships.
If you liked the original series, I don't think this is going to disappoint. If you didn't grow up on shows from the 60s, it very well might not - but not because it's a bad show.
On the whole, I liked it much better than I thought I would.