The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: original series & films

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Comments

  • edited April 2017 Posts: 4,622
    Yes origins can be tiresome, especially if the franchise has already been established in another format.
    Just jump right in! That's what Uncle did originally.
    We met Solo and Kuryakin as fully formed Uncle agents.
    Both Flemings books and the Eon film series also jumped right in with fully established Bond.
    If they do manage a sequel, I'd get right into a mission, and not their first one either.
    Pick things up somewhere down the road with Uncle up and running, and both Solo and Ilya as an established team.
    I'd work the rough edges off Kuryakin too. Mold him a little more in the David McCallum mode.

    ===

    Sequels though are hard to come by in the spy genre.
    The Avengers with Fiennes and Uma. One and done.
    The Saint w Val Kilmer: One and done
    Personal fave: Remo Williams:The Adventure Begins (1985) nada

    And Get Smart (2008) with Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway, looked like a blockbuster franchise launch....But again nada.

    Avengers, The Saint and Get Smart make for 3 smash hit '60s TV spy shows that couldn't launch a later movie run.

    Maybe Uncle should pitch Tom Cruise again. He's pretty much guaranteed box-office. Then replace him with a younger Solo when the time comes.
    But actually Cavill did a decent job, I thought, so the sporting thing to do is give him another shot.
    If box-office is flat again....beg for Cruise and maybe Justin Beiber as Kuryakin :P
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    The Avengers was actually great and true to the source material in almost every bit, just updated. The Saint on the other hand was an abomination and an absolute bore. UNCLE, while drifting away from the TV series, and in some ways for many good reasons, did a decent job. It has its haters, sure. But, it also has its fans who are for the most part outside Northern America. The film sparked an utter popularity in Russia just for Kuryakin alone. As for Cavill, he was a sensational Solo.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    I liked the 98 Avengers too. I also liked The Saint. though it felt more like Mission Impossible than The Saint.
  • edited April 2017 Posts: 4,622
    I thought the new Get Smart was a blast.
    The Saint though was a whole different deal from the old Rog series. Still an OK effort but I didn't care, one way or the other about a sequel.

    Avengers 98 looked great I thought but fell a bit flat. I'm not surprised there was no follow-up, as much as I would have liked one.
    Fiennes and Thurman caught the look and style of the original, but the whole effort seemed kind of forced, almost too deferential. Kind of stiff.
    Uncle 2015 suffers a bit in this regard too, with Cavill a tad stiff at times.
    It's dicey though, doing justice to an iconic original character, yet still being relaxed enough to make the character your own.
    All in all, though, I liked what Cavill did.

    Carrell and Hathaway I thought struck a nice balance channeling Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, yet still making the characters their own.
    I was really hoping, even expecting, we'd get another Smart. Damn!
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    The only thing I'd change about The Avengers is cast Elizabeth Hurley as Emma Peel instead of Uma Thurman.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I didn't mind Cavill. My problem was with Hammer.
    Murdock wrote: »
    The only thing I'd change about The Avengers is cast Elizabeth Hurley as Emma Peel instead of Uma Thurman.
    Excellent idea. That would have been before Myers got to her as well. Hurley is a legend.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    Hathaway, while by the outlooks a babe, had a very annoying portrayal of Agent 99. Since when 99 was an aggressive "know-it-all, better than any man" type of an agent? Carrell as Maxwell Smart, however, was spot on.

    Cavill's range of performance wasn't any less than Robert Vaughn's as Solo. Both are 'stiff' when it comes to that. Sometimes, David McCallum himself hardly showed any facial expressions and the way he spoke seemed like he was sleepwalking or was high to no end.

    And agreed about Emma Peel. The lovely Lizzy Hurley should've been her instead of Uma, to whom I mean no disrespect.
  • Posts: 4,622
    Murdock wrote: »
    The only thing I'd change about The Avengers is cast Elizabeth Hurley as Emma Peel instead of Uma Thurman.

    Hurley would have been great. She would have loosened things up and brought some attitude.

    Yes Cavill gets props. For me, he took a little getting used to but ultimately pulled it off.
    Hammer can be salvaged though.Just need to even out the rougher edges.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Murdock wrote: »
    I liked the 98 Avengers too. I also liked The Saint. though it felt more like Mission Impossible than The Saint.

    The fact that Templar was :
    a) Val Kilmer
    b) An American

    Pissed me off before it even got going....
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Templar was not portrayed as an American in the movie.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Templar was not portrayed as an American in the movie.

    Nice English accent then,just like Costner in Robin Hood.

    Love how the American's take British TV heroes and mangle them.

  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Templar was not portrayed as an American in the movie.

    Nice English accent then,just like Costner in Robin Hood.

    Love how the American's take British TV heroes and mangle them.
    I'm not a fan of Americanizing British heroes, either, nor turning them into Americans. After seeing the promotional trailer for the supposed pilot episode of the 2013 Saint series, I was highly opposed to it because they made it appealing to the American medium and what the general audience thinks "is cool".

    However, I am not opposed to an American actor playing a British character IF the accent is done properly and the dialogue/accent coach does helluva of a job with it. If the Brits can do American accents, then we can do British accents too if taught right.

    Let's not forget about Eva Green. She was French and their dialects are awfully different from the Queen's English. Was she or wasn't she convincing as an Englishwoman in Casino Royale?
  • Posts: 19,339
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Templar was not portrayed as an American in the movie.

    Nice English accent then,just like Costner in Robin Hood.

    Love how the American's take British TV heroes and mangle them.
    I'm not a fan of Americanizing British heroes, either, nor turning them into Americans. After seeing the promotional trailer for the supposed pilot episode of the 2013 Saint series, I was highly opposed to it because they made it appealing to the American medium and what the general audience thinks "is cool".

    However, I am not opposed to an American actor playing a British character IF the accent is done properly and the dialogue coach does helluva of a job with it. If the Brits can do American accents, then we can do British accents too if taught right.


    I'm fine with that,as long as the effort is put in...those 2 films I mentioned are just lazy,disrespectful casting.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    barryt007 wrote: »
    barryt007 wrote: »
    Templar was not portrayed as an American in the movie.

    Nice English accent then,just like Costner in Robin Hood.

    Love how the American's take British TV heroes and mangle them.
    I'm not a fan of Americanizing British heroes, either, nor turning them into Americans. After seeing the promotional trailer for the supposed pilot episode of the 2013 Saint series, I was highly opposed to it because they made it appealing to the American medium and what the general audience thinks "is cool".

    However, I am not opposed to an American actor playing a British character IF the accent is done properly and the dialogue coach does helluva of a job with it. If the Brits can do American accents, then we can do British accents too if taught right.


    I'm fine with that,as long as the effort is put in...those 2 films I mentioned are just lazy,disrespectful casting.
    Agreed about them. Kostner's Robin Hood isn't a good film anyway. And The Saint (1997) was an abomination in every regard. That was not Simon Templar nor The Saint. That was someone/something else.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    I love The Saint 1997 with Shue and Kilmer.

    Back then I did not really connect the film with the TV series, although I have been a fan since my teenage years.

    For me the film works quite well. Having been a huge Val Kilmer fan in the nineties helped quite a bit of course.

    Kilmer has done a series of fantastic films and imho The Saint belongs to that series.

    -Tombstone
    -Batman Forever
    -Heat
    -The Ghost And The Darkness
    -The Saint
    -At First Sight

    I think I even have to purchase them all on iTunes like...now :lol: although I own the newly released HEAT steelbook and naturally, Batman Forever as well.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    I'm a fan of Val Kilmer as an actor, too. But, The Saint stripped down Simon Templar from his principles and made him some sort of a nagging wuss. It's not the TV Series with Moore that's the template of the hardman "every way I can" character that's not made who Templar is, but the books did that themselves. Even in the RKO film series (B-Movie Production) that produced loads of films featuring Simon Templar maintained its faithfulness to the books, with a Saint whose machismo is always on display. My main grudge with the '97 movie is that the main character is a wuss "with feelings". Templar never cared for feelings. He was just a man walking the path of the righteous and being a superman while at it.
  • Posts: 19,339
    I've never liked Val Kilmer.....and I've seen all the films mentioned and more..but always for another actor,not him :

    Tombstone : Kurt Russell
    Batman Forever : Jim Carrey
    Heat : De Niro and Pacino
    Ghost & Darkness : Michael Douglas

    Actually,i haven't seen At First Sight,and never will.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I love The Saint 1997 with Shue and Kilmer.

    Back then I did not really connect the film with the TV series, although I have been a fan since my teenage years.

    For me the film works quite well. Having been a huge Val Kilmer fan in the nineties helped quite a bit of course.

    Kilmer has done a series of fantastic films and imho The Saint belongs to that series.

    -Tombstone
    -Batman Forever
    -Heat
    -The Ghost And The Darkness
    -The Saint
    -At First Sight

    I think I even have to purchase them all on iTunes like...now :lol: although I own the newly released HEAT steelbook and naturally, Batman Forever as well.
    I don't mind The Saint film for what it is, but it's not the same character. I just enjoy it for Shue (she's always great in anything). I agree on him being pretty slick in Batman Forever, and Heat & The Ghost and The Darkness are classics.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Kilmer was the highlight of Tombstone for me. The characterization of Doc Holliday and the performance were both Oscar worthy.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    edited April 2017 Posts: 5,131
    As a fan of the original series, I viewed the pre-release publicity with high hopes and low expectations. But in the end, the film itself was a wonderful surprise! Witty, light-hearted without being a spoof and dramatic without being heavy-handed. The two main characters were updated from what was allowable in 60s television to satisfying and engaging modern versions of their original incarnations, and the attendant allies and villains were all one could want. The film was very much what the series could have been were it being done now.

    Guy Ritchie's direction is assured and far more clever and entertaining than his current rivals. And his eye for casting, assuming it was his doing, is impeccable.

    Cavill and Hammer make an unexpectedly good team. Cavill has a flair for comedy that I haven't known about. Oddly enough, Hugh Grant who appears briefly, is a proved asset but is underused.

    All in all though this is a fun movie and not to be missed.
  • Posts: 19,339
    I didn't know there was a spin-off from 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E' :

    The_Girl_from_U.N.C.L.E.jpg

    And who guest starred in it :

    cap001.jpg?t=1201250990
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Luciana Paluzzi was also in the pilot episode. The one where the series was called Ian Fleming's Solo. Or just Solo.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Twice ?

    Wowowowowow !!!
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited April 2017 Posts: 15,423
    Yep, UNCLE had her before Bond did.
  • Posts: 19,339
    I suppose her roles in UNCLE must have been an influence on the choice for her in TB.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    That's the general belief, I think. But, @AlexanderWaverly knows better.
  • Posts: 19,339
    Hopefully he will let us know,interesting stuff.
  • edited April 2017 Posts: 4,622
    Kilmer was the highlight of Tombstone for me. The characterization of Doc Holliday and the performance were both Oscar worthy.

    This is very true . Great job as Doc. Very convincing portrayal. Lethal and smooth despite his illness.
    One of cinema's great gunslinger portrayals I thought!

    Re Hathaway as 99. Yes she was different, but she evolved as the movie went along closer to Feldon's 99.
    She warmed to Max as the film went along. The movie was uncharted territory. It was a Max and 99 origins story, rebooted 40 years forward so creative license I think is allowed.
    I did notice that the way she said "Oh Max" evolved as the film moved along. By the end she was practically imitating Feldon's tone with the same endearing tone.
    Re Paluzzi, her Uncle femme fatale was practically a template for Fiona Volpe.
    I thinks its a good bet Terrence Young and company liked what they saw in Uncle. They probably saw the cinema version of her character, in which her role was enhanced, with much extra footage not seen on TV.
    Paluzzi also appeared in The Girl From Uncle after she did Thunderball.
    ==
    An underappreciated Smart gem, I think is the 7 episode Get Smart 94 series.
    The show takes a lot of flack, but I do love The Elaine Hendrix agent character.
    She's sassy sexy and funny, and Feldon and Adams are both in good form.
  • Posts: 1,917
    Luciana Paluzzi was also in the pilot episode. The one where the series was called Ian Fleming's Solo. Or just Solo.

    She wasn't actually in the pilot. It's complicated, but they combined another episode with the pilot for the feature film, To Trap a Spy to make it long enough for feature release.

    The episode she was in, shown later in the season, was called The Four-Steps Affair, so it's easy to see where the confusion would happen.
  • Posts: 4,622
    BT3366 wrote: »
    Luciana Paluzzi was also in the pilot episode. The one where the series was called Ian Fleming's Solo. Or just Solo.

    She wasn't actually in the pilot. It's complicated, but they combined another episode with the pilot for the feature film, To Trap a Spy to make it long enough for feature release.

    The episode she was in, shown later in the season, was called The Four-Steps Affair, so it's easy to see where the confusion would happen.
    I can't remember
    But wasn't there a colour pilot that she was not in, and later a b&w episode that she was in.
    Wasn't the film pretty much the pilot, but with the fully fleshed out Paluzzi sidebar footage added?
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