The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Guy Ritchie, 2015)

Another year, another spate of remakes of things which were popular in past eras, and soon the recycling may have to resort as far as the '40s. It's a Wonderful Life with, say, Bradley Cooper, anyone? Although that's probably already in post-production anyway.
That said, and forewarned with having the unsteady Guy Ritchie at the helm, this is surprisingly entertaining at times. Of course, the camp has been sucked out and with it much of the humour too, but watch the original series and say in all honesty that it was funny. Really.
Instead of the kitsch, then, we have gritty back stories, abundant violence and two men twice the size of their predecessors as the heroes. So far, so standard, but Henry Cavill's Napoleon Solo is a nice twist on Jean Dujardin's suave OSS 117 character and Armie Hammer works well as his counterpart Illya Kuryakin, with much mileage gained from ceaselessly baiting him to lose his rag. It's still no great shakes, but far better than could have been hoped for, given the raw materials.

5/10