# Why remake "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548 "2015-08-11T14:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/101 "2015-08-17T18:28:28Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Until this movie came out, I always thought this was a title for one of the old Bond movies Clearly, you had a deprived (not depraved) childhood! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/102 "2015-08-17T19:50:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The movie could actually have been made in the 60’s - not only were the props and costumes and settings entirely within reach for that time, and would have fit right in, but so was the sensibility of it. It would have been so easy to move it into modern times, add some explosions, and wallow in gratuitous CGI, but they resisted the temptation and it worked. > > The only incongruous thing was Ilya being more physical than intellectual. But that worked too, in the context of the story. Napoleon Solo’s hair was decidedly not right for the period. He also would probably have worn a hat. Same with Alexander Waverly. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/103 "2015-08-17T20:00:16Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Napoleon Solo’s hair was decidedly not right for the period. He also would probably have worn a hat. Same with Alexander Waverly. Waverly (Leo G Carroll), yes! But I don’t recall Solo (Robert Vaughn) ever wearing one. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/104 "2015-08-17T20:23:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Clearly, you had a deprived (not depraved) childhood! 😛 Probably just too young for being familiar with something from the 60’s ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/105 "2015-08-17T20:25:54Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Probably just too young for being familiar with something from the 60’s That’s what I mean! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/106 "2015-08-17T21:11:45Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Napoleon Solo’s hair was decidedly not right for the period. Neither was David McCallum’s, even for a Russian. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/107 "2015-08-17T21:16:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Waverly (Leo G Carroll), yes! But I don’t recall Solo (Robert Vaughn) ever wearing one. He wouldn’t have. JFK killed hats for young people when he didn’t wear one at his inauguration. I don’t remember either Napoleon or Ilya wearing hats in the original show. But it was a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/108 "2015-08-17T23:45:57Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s not a dated idea (they’re maintaining all that in the movie), it’s dated in production values. Still fun to watch, of course, but a lot of modern audiences won’t look at anything as old as a 60s show. Well, they won’t look at a show _made_ in the sixties,but there seems to be a big appetite for shows _set_ in the sixties. It’s a natural - you get to enjoy the clothes, cars, unPC attitudes, and your villains get to be actual unambiguously-evil Nazis. I’m a little surprised this hasn’t been exploited even further, though I recognize the expense of shooting a period piece is probably considerable. Incidentally, my German-speaking girlfriend noted the that the two brothers (the physicist and the shipping magnate) had natural German accents. Everyone else was way off. A minor hitch, I thought, was in the closing credits when they rapidly ran through the dossiers of the four new UNCLE agents: Kuryakin supposedly has an ELO rating of 2401. Aside from being a bit anachronistic (the ELO system wasn’t adopted internationally until 1970), this would put him at International Master/Grandmaster level, and the only way to get a rating like this is if you’ve played and beaten other International Masters, which would get him noticed, which is not exactly conducive to being a secret agent. Not a big deal, but it’s like being a secret agent who also has an Olympic bronze medal. Sooner or later, he’s going to run into someone who’ll recognize him for this and that’ll blow his “I’m an architect (or whatever)” cover. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/109 "2015-08-17T23:58:13Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > He wouldn’t have. JFK killed hats for young people when he didn’t wear one at his inauguration. I don’t remember either Napoleon or Ilya wearing hats in the original show. But it was a long time ago. That story about John Kennedy is a myth. See [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/110 "2015-08-20T21:42:06Z")
Saw it last night, and loved it. Not since Who Framed Roger Rabbit have I sat through a movie and been so happy! I was on a consistent “happy!” jag damn near all through the show! I love the three main characters. The “triangle” is hilarious. As a fan of the old TV series, I can still respect the major differences. Solo’s background, and Kuryakin’s personality, are hugely different – and yet, they are hauntingly alike the old characters. The “magic” is there. (Macallum played Ilya with slightly hooded eyes; Hammer plays him with eyes wide, wide open. Astonishing, then, how alike the two are at times!) The plot was wonderful old-fashioned Sixties’ spy guff, and of exactly the right depth of complexity for me. I tended to get lost in the recent Mission Impossible movies. (And with the second Sherlock Holmes movie – A Game of Shadows – I spent damn near the entire movie wondering what the hell was going on.) Obviously, this will lead many to say that the plot was too simple for them, but for me, it was perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/111 "2015-08-21T00:58:17Z")
Your post made me happy! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/112 "2015-08-21T01:43:24Z")
Contact high! ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/113 "2015-08-21T02:17:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The movie could actually have been made in the 60’s - not only were the props and costumes and settings entirely within reach for that time, and would have fit right in, but so was the sensibility of it. It would have been so easy to move it into modern times, add some explosions, and wallow in gratuitous CGI, but they resisted the temptation and it worked. Except no 60s film would’ve applied the highly lazy Cuisinart-editing to the fight scenes, or constructed a car chase as incoherent as the one in the climax. Needless to say, I thought the film was tedious and charm-free. I was certainly hoping for a fun, fizzy film with a nice retro feel. But the chemistry between Ilya and his “wife” was phony and forced, and there was no real feel for the era and the genuine Cold War tension that would’ve existed. It all felt like a bunch of people playing dress-up, and not very convincingly. I will give props to Elizabeth Debicki, who is a total hottie and wore her period stylings very alluringly. She has great camera presence, even though none of her motivations really made sense other than “Evil-Nazi-crazy”. The older characters (Harris & Grant) were cursory but more believable. But I am pretty mystified as to why this film exists, since the action wasn’t original and the nostalgic feel was so artificial. Heck, I thought Armie’s Lone Ranger film was ridiculous and borderline-insulting, but that still had more bizarre integrity than this holy mess. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/114 "2015-08-21T03:33:03Z")
Man, you’re no fun. Debbie Downer. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/115 "2015-08-21T16:35:38Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Man, you’re no fun. Debbie Downer. Well, I may not be fun, but the film isn’t either. Wah-Waaaaaaahhhhh. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/116 "2015-08-21T16:37:10Z")
Saw it last weekend with my wife – we enjoyed it. Silly fun, with good performances. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/117 "2015-08-21T18:43:23Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > Well, I may not be fun, but the film isn’t either. > > Wah-Waaaaaaahhhhh. Each to their own. We thought it was fun. Your post is a good example of why I try (but don’t always succeed) not to read threads, articles, reviews about movies before I go. It might have moved the movie from my Must See (because of Alicia Vikander) list to One Of These Days, Maybe, and then I would have been upset. It confirms my resolve to stay away from anything (including trailers) except for a cast/filmmakers list & maybe the most basic synopsis. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/118 "2015-08-21T20:13:04Z")
The key is to find a movie reviewer who has the same tastes you do. Ever so damn long ago, Richard Schickel, writing for Time Magazine, was the reviewer for me. I (damn near) always agreed with him! Alas, I don’t have anyone today who is even close to that well-calibrated to my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/119 "2015-08-22T07:17:23Z")
I don’t know that I could find a reviewer with as broad tastes. I haven’t been going to movies anywhere near as much as I used to, but so far in August I’ve seen Ant-Man The End of the Tour Shaun the Sheep Movie Ricki and the Flash The Gift The Wolfpack Runoff Diary of a Teenage Girl Brothers: Blood Against Blood The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Phoenix (a German film) With American Ultra, Mistress America and something else I can’t remember, scheduled for this weekend. (My favorite of the one listed is The Wolfpack, a documentary) I only read reviews after I’ve seen a movie anyway, mainly to avoid spoilers, and being tainted, the way I would have been had I read MM’s post above prior to seeing UNCLE. I’ll just continue on, based on whatever criteria it is that interests me that makes me want to see a particular movie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548/120 "2015-08-22T17:51:45Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Fleming introduced SPECTRE when a thaw in relations with the Soviets made Smersh being the villains a problem. He didn’t want to besmersh their good name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-remake-the-man-from-u-n-c-l-e/727548.md?page=7)