A Look Back: The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Guy Ritchie’s Espionage Masterpiece and Why “Style vs Substance” Needs to Die

I originally planned on writing this piece in January, but due to a focus on school and mainly writing reviews for some newer films, this was put on the back burner. Now having seen Guy Ritchie’s latest film, the live action remake/adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin, it has pushed me to finally talk about The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and more importantly, the debate of “Style vs Substance”. With films such as Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, RocknRolla, Revolver, Snatch, and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie has carved out a pretty polarizing filmography with each and every one of his films featuring the very defined and recognizable Guy Ritchie style.

It is in Ritchie’s specific style that many bring up the argument of “Style vs Substance”, but when looking at any artistic piece, that debate has only grown to be dated. On a personal level, one of my biggest gripes with so-called cinephiles is their inherent need to belittle others’ favorite films. Whether it be calling the Fast and Furious movies bloated and terrible action movies despite never having seen them, the Marvel Cinematic Universe mindless-superhero fodder, or Star Wars a bunch on nonsensical space wizardry, people tend to try and belittle anything that they see as a lesser form of art that their own personal tastes. While I love films like Roma and Annihilation, I also unabashedly adore the current state of the MCU and the stories that are being told in this ever-growing cinematic universe, and even the DCEU, with films like Aquaman and Shazam being absolute blasts to watch. This is a trend that is simply put, not okay. As lovers of cinema, we are not supposed to just tear into others for liking something vastly opposed to our tastes, rather let them enjoy their favorite films because truth be told, you probably enjoy at least one movie that the majority does not. So what does any of this have to do with 2015’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E.? Well, the film is completely stylized with there not being much surface-level substance to it, however, it is in its style that the film creates its substance and in the process, making it an important piece of art. Without further ado, let us take A Look Back at Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E..