The Man From U.N.C.L.E. – Arrow Video

Director: Guy Richie
Screenplay: Guy Ritchie and Lionel Wigram
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debick, Jared Harris and Hugh Grant
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Running Time: 116 mins
Year: 2015

I’m a pretty big Guy Ritchie fan, but mostly when it comes to his earlier features. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch are films I watched when I was far too young too, but they had a lasting impact on my film taste. Blending the gnarly crime elements with dark comedy is something I’ve always had a taste for since, and while his last few decades have mostly been focused in the mainstream Hollywood blockbuster sphere, he still occasionally directs a film that really works for me. Recently, Wrath of Man blew me away and when I heard that Arrow Video was releasing one of Ritchie’s cult favourites, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Limited Edition 4K and Blu-ray, I had to request a copy.

An interesting thing to note before I get into my thoughts on the film, this is the first release under the newly formed Arrow Video and Warner Bros. partnership, and when it was initially announced, it turned a few heads. It seemed like a bizarre first title for the two companies to work together on, but after viewing the film, I can understand why this is one of their first outings. 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is loosely based on the 60s television series of the same name and was Richie’s follow-up to the hugely successful Sherlock Holmes films he did for Warner Bros. in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer as Solo and Illya, two spies from America and Russia respectively who are forced to team up, alongside Gaby (Alicia Vikander), who’s father is building a weapon for evil Neo-Nazis. It’s a very typical spy plot, full of the usual “nuclear weapon of mass destruction” that’ll end the world as we know it but what sets U.N.C.L.E. apart is the sense of humour the film has. 

While the film has a heavy focus on action set-pieces, it’s the comedy that really worked best for me. The dynamic between these two spies from opposing countries is something that feels like it’d get stale fast, but thanks to the purposeful anti-chemistry between Cavill and Hammer, it’s delightful seeing the pair bicker as each tries to one-up the other throughout the course of the film. There’s some fun side-characters too, with Gaby being the middle-man (or middle-woman) to combat the two’s hostility, and the antagonists have a fair share of fun moments too. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it works better than you’d expect and I had a blast watching the silly spy mystery unfold throughout the two hour runtime.

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. There’s some solid action sequences that are let down by some misguided editing and while the comedy does help some of the more dull exposition scenes, the narrative follows the plot beats you’d expect for a spy thriller. Still, Richie’s usual blending of comedy and crime (although we’re on the side of the people stopping the crime this time!) is enjoyable as ever, and makes for a fine addition to the Arrow Video library. 

If you didn’t catch this one at the cinema when it initially came out and it sounds up your alley, give it a shot. It’s a shame we didn’t get more of these, although with Richie working on countless new projects every year and some less than stellar things involving lead actor Armie Hammer, it’s unlikely we’ll see this franchise continue. 

Film:

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. releases 29th of July on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray via Arrow Video. I viewed the UHD release and was quite impressed. After doing some digging, the transfer seems to be upscaled from a 2K digital intermediate but the transfer remains impressive nonetheless. The Dolby Vision HDR grade is gorgeous, with the colours popping often during the day time sequences and the night-time sequences having stronger black levels than a typical Blu-ray would allow. The Dolby Atmos audio mix included is great too and with the top-notch sound design and needledrops, it takes full advantage of your set-up. Great on an A/V level, no complaints there. The following extras are included:

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

The brand new audio commentary by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry, recorded exclusively for this release is a fun listen, and contains all of the information that you’d hope for in an analytical track such as this. I was reminded of the Frank Djeng tracks for martial arts flicks releases from 88 Films and Eureka, with how rapid-fire the information is given throughout from the pair. It’s a good listen that’s worth checking out.

The Hollywood Way is a brand new 16 minute interview with Lionel Wigram, the co-writer and producer of the film, who’s a regular Guy Ritchie collaborator and hearing him share his early love for 60s and 70s European cinema is fun, as well as his stories on how he got into the film industry years prior. Wigram worked on the Harry Potter films, the Ritchie Sherlock Holmes films and more recently, Ritchie’s King Arthur film. It’s a good, fun interview. 

A Lineage of Bad Guys is a brand new 15 minute interview with actor Luca Calvani, who plays Alexander Vinciguerra in the film. He gives an overview on his start as an actor and what led to him being cast in The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as well as how the shoot went and Calvani’s a delight to listen to. It’s a good watch. 

Legacy of U.N.C.L.E. is a brand new 29 minute featurette focused on the U.N.C.L.E. franchise as a whole, including the original 60s series and the film included on this disc. Interviewees include David Flint, Helen McCarthy and Vic Pratt, who give a solid overview on the history of the franchise and it’s a really great watch. Given that I had very little knowledge on The Man From U.N.C.L.E before checking out this disc, it was a nice history lesson and love letter from the trio. Absolutely worth watching!

Cockneys and Robbers is a brand new 25 minute featurette with Kat Hughes, Hannah Strong and Josh Saco, who dive into Guy Ritchie’s filmography as a whole, discussing his origins in the gangster genre and eventual blockbusters later down the line. It’s another solid overview on the history of Richie as a filmmaker, and makes a great pairing with the prior featurette about the U.N.C.L.E. franchise. Another recommended watch.

The five archival featurettes from previous Blu-rays (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) are your typical behind-the-scenes featurettes, discussing the visuals of the film, the costume design, the cast and more. It’s neat to see these carried over from the old Blu-ray and they add up to around 35 minutes of extras. Similar to the recent release of John Wick: Chapter 4, I feel like combining all of these into one, compact mini-documentary would have made more sense for Warner on the original Blu-ray release, but they’re still decent watches on their own.

The four archival U.N.C.L.E.: On-Set Spy featurettes all last for around a minute and change, showcasing sequences from the film and how they were put together. They’re nothing mind-blowing, but it’ll please some fans, I’m sure.

The theatrical trailer and an image gallery are included.

I wasn’t provided with the poster or booklet, so I can’t comment on those unfortunately.

While it’s a little disappointing not to see any interviews with the key cast members or Richie himself, the newly filmed interviews and featurettes are insightful, fun and worth checking out. The archival content is a little more hit-or-miss, but it’s great to see it ported over regardless. 

Fans of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. will be pleased with Arrow’s presentation of the film, thanks to the solid new extras and surprisingly great transfer (given that it’s an upscale) and while the film is far from perfect and feels like a tease for things to come that most likely never will, it’s still a fun time that I can recommend to fans of the spy genre or Ritchie films.

Disc/Packaging:

Where to watch The Man from U.N.C.L.E.