This will probably go down as the movie that was ignored in favor of Spectre being released 3 months later. Despite a lengthy media blitz, TMU didn’t find much of an audience (reportedly it didn’t make a profit in theatres), which is a shame because I liked. Odd to say that now considering I’m one of the people that didn’t show up when it came out.
Leading actors Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer are secret agents, Napoleon Solo (with the CIA) and Illya Kuryakin (with the KGB) in the early 1960’s. The movie opens with a fun chase scene in Berlin with Illya trying to stop Solo. Events unfold and they are both assigned the mission of getting Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander, Ava from Ex Machina!) to her scientist father. He’s made some poor decisions recently. Having made some major breakthroughs in the explosive arts, he’s gotten himself involved with a nasty criminal organization that is using him to get into the nuclear arms race in a major way.
Guy Ritchie directed this picture and his fingerprints are all over it right from the opening credits. The man loves swooping camera movement.  Speed it up, slow it down, fly over here, fly back over there. Kinetic montages with funky beats (the soundtrack is awesome). It’s a rambunctious movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously (think Kingsman: The Secret Service). Cavill and Hammer work together great and look like they had a blast making the movie. Production values are great, the costumes being a real standout (it looks a lot like an old James Bond movie which I’m a sucker for).
As much as I liked it, there’s some off-putting stuff. The number of times Solo and Illya’s rivalry is addressed borders on the absurd. We get it, they’re both alpha males. The movie wants to be funny but often isn’t (acting nonchalant to horror movie like deaths is bizarre), so the humor often comes off as tone deaf and forced (Dialog. Like. This. Is. Not. Smart.). There are 3 endings too, so I went “oh, there’s more?” twice (each part works toward closure, but it makes the movie run a bit too long).
The end sets it up to be a franchise and I think it could have worked. Unfortunately, not enough people thought so. Worth a watch.