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

[Warped9]

I didn't see this coming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfdyHkqfEI&feature=share

It looks like it could be fun. And I like that it's set in the right era.

 

[Greg Cox]

I've been enjoying the reruns on MeTV. This looks like fun, too.

 

[Mudd]

But no U.N.C.L.E. An origin story.

Cavill does a hint of a Vaughn impersonation; definitely not his Superman voice.

 

[Christopher]

^More than a hint, I'd say. It's very clearly a Robert Vaughn impression. Or at least it's a characterization strongly informed by Vaughn.

Looks like it has potential, probably very much in the vein of Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films. I'd been hoping for a third one of those, so maybe this will be a reasonable substitute.


I'm sure someone's noted this symmetry before, but: Solo is played by Henry Cavill, who will be Superman in a future Justice League movie, and Kuryakin is played by Armie Hammer, who was cast as Batman in the abortive 2008 Justice League movie.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I really liked the trailer. It was a very pleasant surprise, as I'd forgotten that it was even being made. And I'm overjoyed that it takes place in 1963. I'm in!

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, this looks surprisingly good. It's a period piece and it looks like they're making a good stab at capturing the feel of the source material; I love the scene with Solo hiding in the back seat. I still think the actors are a bit plain, but I'm definitely getting a Robert Vaughn vibe.

 

[Forbin]

Definitely happy it's set in the 60s. Those were my "wonder years" and I loved the styles and the fashions.

 

[bbailey861]

I didn't know - or I forgot - that they were remaking an U.N.C.L.E. movie. I loved the original series and enjoyed the trailer for the film that I saw for the first time this week. I think it might be fun. Has anyone heard if McCallum is making a cameo anywhere in it?

 

[Christopher]

Has anyone heard if McCallum is making a cameo anywhere in it?

Neither Wikipedia nor IMDb says anything about Vaughn or McCallum cameos.


It's odd that they're setting the film in 1963 rather than '64, when the series premiered. Perhaps because it's an origin story? Or maybe there's some historical event they chose to build it around.

 

[Warped9]

I have fond memories of this series, but awhile I watched a couple of first season episodes and I was somewhat underwhelmed. Sure your perspectives and tastes can change over so many years, but something felt off. The sexism was so overt it was rather weird (for those who keep lobbing that charge at TOS).

But this trailer seemed to click for me. I'm looking forward to seeing more. It struck me as the way I used to remember the series.

 

[Christopher]

I have fond memories of this series, but awhile I watched a couple of first season episodes and I was somewhat underwhelmed. Sure your perspectives and tastes can change over so many years, but something felt off.

The first season was decent, aside from the gross sexism and the persistent racism toward non-Western cultures. The second season was a mess, and I've heard such awful things about the third that I haven't dared watch it yet. All in all, I'd call TMFU my least favorite of the '60s spy shows I've seen.

The sexism was so overt it was rather weird (for those who keep lobbing that charge at TOS).

The charge was often warranted for TOS, but at least it made an effort to be progressive. TMFU's sexism -- in fact, its blatant misogyny -- was far worse.

The real weirdness is that the most misogynistic episodes were usually written by Peter Allan Fields -- who later went on to do great work writing Kira and Dax as strong, admirable female characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So clearly his view of women changed for the better in the interim.

 

[Forbin]

It's just possible that Get Smart was a more serious spy show than 3rd season UNCLE.

 

[Forbin]

Oh - total pointless aside: Last week when I finished my last Girl From UNCLE episode, I popped in a 2nd season Hart to Hart (can't have enough Stephanie Powers!), and the guest star was Noel Harrison (her co-star on GFU)! Total cosmic coincidence. Okay, a small one, but they still amuse me.

 

[Velocity]

I have fond memories of this series, but awhile I watched a couple of first season episodes and I was somewhat underwhelmed. Sure your perspectives and tastes can change over so many years, but something felt off.

The first season was decent, aside from the gross sexism and the persistent racism toward non-Western cultures. The second season was a mess, and I've heard such awful things about the third that I haven't dared watch it yet. All in all, I'd call TMFU my least favorite of the '60s spy shows I've seen.

The sexism was so overt it was rather weird (for those who keep lobbing that charge at TOS).

The charge was often warranted for TOS, but at least it made an effort to be progressive. TMFU's sexism -- in fact, its blatant misogyny -- was far worse.

The real weirdness is that the most misogynistic episodes were usually written by Peter Allan Fields -- who later went on to do great work writing Kira and Dax as strong, admirable female characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So clearly his view of women changed for the better in the interim.

I think the spy shows of the time (not Get Smart) were following the James Bond model and treated women mostly as sex objects.

 

[Christopher]

I think the spy shows of the time (not Get Smart) were following the James Bond model and treated women mostly as sex objects.

I wouldn't say that. Mrs. Peel of The Avengers was one of the strongest female characters of the era, at least as much as 99. Cinnamon Carter on Mission: Impossible was pretty capable too. And I Spy wasn't a Bond-type series, going for a more grounded approach to the espionage business. The only other '60s spy show I can think of that objectified women to that extent was The Wild, Wild West. Jim West was such a womanizer that he made Captain Kirk seem like a monk.

 

[Forbin]

I think the spy shows of the time (not Get Smart) were following the James Bond model and treated women mostly as sex objects.

I wouldn't say that. Mrs. Peel of The Avengers was one of the strongest female characters of the era, at least as much as 99. Cinnamon Carter on Mission: Impossible was pretty capable too. And I Spy wasn't a Bond-type series, going for a more grounded approach to the espionage business. The only other '60s spy show I can think of that objectified women to that extent was The Wild, Wild West. Jim West was such a womanizer that he made Captain Kirk seem like a monk.

In fact, the last line of the last episode of WWW was West muttering something along the lines of keeping women in the kitchen where they belong. I was very disappointed to be sent off with that moment of disgust.

 

[marillion]

Saw the trailer attached to Kingsman (Brilliant, by the way) and got a complete wave of nostalgia going... When I was a kid back in the 80s, my dad and I would watch the original series (forgotten which network) and I absolutely loved it. I'm really looking forward to this one.

 

[Gaith]

I had to turn off said trailer after a minute just now, because, though I only gave it a shot to see Alicia Vikander, it actually looks pretty damn good - I had no idea it'd be a period piece, and the Cavill/Hammer pairing looks like a lot of fun. (Funny that the Brit is playing a Yank, and the Yank is playing a Russian!) Maybe Ritchie will up his game from the seriously mediocre Holmes films...

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Anyone read any of the Modesty Blaise books? I'm on the first one. Excellent, great fun.

 

[Christopher]

(Funny that the Brit is playing a Yank, and the Yank is playing a Russian!)

Indeed, the Yank is playing a Russian that was originally played by a Brit. (Well, a Scot, but using an English accent.)