The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

Cast: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Debicki, Luca Calvani
Direction: Guy Ritchie
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes

Story: It is 1963 and the Cold War between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is at its height. Despite these diplomatic tensions, an agent from each of these countries - Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Hammer) - have to work together to stop a shadowy group from getting their hands on a nuclear warhead.

Review: First off, it's important to note that this movie is actually based on a popular US TV show from the post-World War II era. Back then, the spy genre seemed especially relevant given the tensions between the USA and the USSR and so, made great fodder for primetime TV. However Guy Ritchie has now updated the story line and infused it with a wry and dry sense of humour along with a generous dose of wittiness, all the while keeping the Cold War backdrop as a present-but-distant sideline.

Cavill is a former rogue-turned-CIA operative who has to work with KGB sleuth Illya to thwart race car driver Alexander (Calvani) and his impossibly beautiful wife Victoria's (Debicki) radioactive ambitions, so to speak.

The movie borrows from the buddy cop genre too, in the sense that you have two very competent but rival individuals who find themselves lassoed together in order to achieve a common objective.

Ritchie lets Cavill and Hammer have their day in the sun, with the film being buoyed by a slick script and hyper-stylish visuals. It's the kind of cinematic romp that 007 would have traded in one of his fancy wristwatches to earn a cameo in. Hugh Grant - that master of dry Brit wit - as a spy boss is also delightful here. Speaking of Bond, Cavill does his best to out-Bond James Bond and arguably (as well as surprisingly) succeeds, as the super-suave spy.

Illya, every inch the ruthless Russian tough-guy spy is initially at loggerheads with his political rival but soon develops a healthy respect for Solo. They realize that they can achieve more while working in sync, in an atmosphere devoid of mutual suspicion. This U.N.C.L.E is effortlessly cool. Go see it.

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No Escape

Cast: Owen Wilson, Pierce Brosnan, Lake Bell
Direction: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle
Genre: Action
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Story: Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson), a hydro engineer battling recession, displaces his family to an unnamed Asian country. His wife Annie and two daughters were already wary about being uprooted. A sudden coup in this unspecified country pushes them to embark on a harrowing survival journey.

Review: There is no escaping the fact that No Escape, despite all the bludgeoning, is a guilty pleasure you'll be tempted to take. The loopy script ridden with shameful cliches ends up taking a backseat, as you get on this roller-coaster ride.

John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle exhibit their fluency with the horror genre by creating similar jump-out-of-your-seat thrills. The film weaves a macabre ambience, incorporating the genre's quintessential props to frighten audiences.

The film's weakest link is its story that is painfully cliched. We are told about a coup d'etat but never the political context. The story doesn't bother exploring the reason for the locals' hatred towards America. In fact, the locals in the film loiter around like zombies, with hardly any dialogues to mutter. The narrative never focuses on the socio-political issue, wrapping it up in a jiffy. The movie then breezily shifts its attention to the Americans stuck in the torn-down country, desperately struggling to get out.

What works here is that the end product is a slick, pacy thriller. There is a spine-chilling sequence in the film in which Jack throws his daughter from a high-rise, while escaping from a group of insurgents, and she lands with a thud in her mother's arms.

Parental paranoia is beautifully captured by Owen. He owns every perilous frame skillfully. Former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan remains largely unused in the film but is enchanting to watch in the scenes he features in.

There are glimpses of the director duo's terrific work. Along with cinematographer Leo Hinstin, they mount a terrific assassination scene, which begins with glasses and ends in gore. The film is undeniably shallow fun, but fun nevertheless.

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