The Man from U. N. C. L. E. (2015)

☆ ☆

The Man from U. N. C. L. E. (2015) – G. Ritchie

Slick but pointless, calculated yet somehow flaccid, and of course cynically setting up a franchise (that may never happen) – these may be the trademarks of Guy Ritchie who once seemed interesting (when he made Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, 1998 but that turned out to be just a Tarantino hangover).  Here, we have a few up-and-coming stars who I didn’t recognise upon first glance (Henry Cavill, Alicia Vikander, Armie Hammer) and a glorified cameo by Hugh Grant to hold them together.  No one embarrasses themselves but proceedings feel hollow.  I never saw the original TV show but somehow I doubt that this matters – it wasn’t too hard to grasp the schema upon which the film rests.  Not worth your time.