Our story opens with Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) crossing from West Berlin to East Berlin in 1963. He seeks to convince Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) to defect and help him locate her missing father, a Nazi scientist who had been working for the United States until his disappearance two years ago. Though she agrees, the pair are immediately pursued by Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer), a top KGB agent. The two prove well-matched but it is Solo who wins by getting Gaby to West Berlin. The following day, Solo and Kuryakin are shocked to discover that they have been made partners in order to prevent a nuclear weapon from being developed by a criminal organization. Gaby's missing father is believed to be involved, so Gaby will go with them to help ferret him out. The original series never explained how it was formed or the first meeting between Napoleon and Illya; this movie fills that gap.
I only saw one episode of the original series and it was no where near as funny as this. Solo and Kuryakin have a very adversarial relationship that provides many opportunities for laughs. However, as the movie progresses, the two clearly develop respect for each other. The movie often plays for laughs in other ways too. Solo is clearly the suave agent with gift for seduction and Gaby has already started to like him. Thus, it is funny when she is instead paired with Illya, who will play her fiancée. Illya is much less comfortable around women and such is played to the hilt with Gaby.
The movie ends with Alexander Waverley (Hugh Grant) of British Intelligence putting together a special team for a new agency, the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (UNCLE). There is clearly room for a sequel. Though I liked the movie and give it a thumbs up, the box office looks insufficient to deserve a sequel.
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