Joeshill-0609 First,i have some choice words about this "unique" CBS TV movie from 1983-Nice,,But No Dice!! "THE MAN FROM UNCLE" was a landmark NBC-TV series from 1964 to 1968,as well as being Metro Goldwyn Mayer's answer to the 007 craze of the 60s-and successful enough for MGM to theatrically release most of the two parters as motion pictures. but what was never explained was how Viacom Productions got the rights to do this reunion movie,with out MGM's participation! director Ray Austin did a so-so job-but in all fairness,they still could've used any of the original directors who worked on the TV series,and why they didn't do that,is a very big mystery,with money usually being the main reason! the reunion movie was somewhat nice,seeing Robert Vaughn and David McCallum back as UNCLE's finest-but it would've been better,had MGM participated in this reunion! ironically,Michael Sloan,who later went on to create "THE EQUALIZER" TV series at Universal in 1985,also did the first reunion film of "THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN" and "THE BIONIC WOMAN" in 1987,using an almost exact same story,that was used in "RETURN OF THE MAN FROM UNCLE"-and over the years,i've been meaning to point that out,until now! point being,is that remakes and reunions fall seriously short of being the items they once were,when the originals had their run! pity,that Sloan couldn't get Stephanie Powers to return as "April Dancer" for this reunion,,but then, this movie just wasn't up to speed! about the only satisfying justice that was done,was in a 1986 episode of NBC's "THE A TEAM" series,when Vaughn and McCallum reunited,but was on opposite sides of the law-and the episode,"The Never Say Uncle Affair",was actually WAY better then the 1983 TV movie,because it was clever,and stylish! otherwise,the reunion film,just did not have the flare and wit,of the 1964-68 series, and could've been way better! currently,Warner Bros. is planning to make an UNCLE movie,since they own the rights,as well as the MGM library,but i don't think that their efforts will be any better,which is why the originals will always be the Superiors!

Edward Rapka Those super-agents of the spy-era "Man from U.N.C.L.E." Robert Vaughn & David McCallum reteam in this 1983 sequel, reprising their characters admirably & accurately, but the overall tone of this (one of the earliest of the TV "reunion" movies) falls flat. The scripting and helming fail to match the jaunty tongue-in-cheekness of the original, despite screenplay credit by series-creator Sam Rolfe, and regrettably it lacks any hint of the original hep score by Fried & Goldsmith.The plot is predictable and typical of the '60s series: U.N.C.L.E.-vs-THRUSH, with an innocent bystander conscripted into the fray. But beyond the two leads, nothing remains of the original U.N.C.L.E. mythos. By 1983 the MGM backlot had been bulldozed for a condo development, so this was shot entirely on location -- even the interiors. The result feels a little too raw to recreate the fantastical "U.N.C.L.E." franchise. And sadly, the production design ditched the sleek steel-panel walls of the original headquarters, the cute miniskirted G3s and the gee-whiz technology that made the show such fun. It would seem the old HQ "somewhere in the east '40s" was boarded up some years back (perhaps a downsizing?) and operations moved to new offices that smack of a modest corporation somewhere in Wisconsin, with cheap wood panelling and fluorescent overheads and the full "United Network Command for Law and Enforcement" emblazoned billboard-size on the hallway walls; apparently U.N.C.L.E. has moved heavily into branding these days). In fact, the only recognizable elements reprised from the series are the pen-radio, the briefing-room TV sequence and a few blinking "old-world" computer consoles which must have been languishing in the prop warehouse since the Nixon Administration. The shtick of this remake is that the current staff of U.N.C.L.E. comprises vanilla-bland PC yuppies fresh out of prep school, to a man possessing none of the silky suaveness of Napoleon Solo, and the entire agency seems to have a bureaucratic malaise hanging over it. Perhaps with good reason: the international terrorist agency, THRUSH, is said to have been disbanded some years ago. My feeling watching this setup was that with Waverly gone, and without a worthy adversary, U.N.C.L.E. had lost its way.But suddenly, unexpectedly, THRUSH rears up Phoenix-like, precipitating Solo's return to the fold...where he finds himself very much a fish out of water (a riff used, perhaps more effectively, some years later by Pierce Brosnan in "The World Is Not Enough" in which JB's predatory sexual mores clash with the PC feminism of the late 20th century).Patrick McNee ("John Steed" of the Avengers) has been drafted to replace the late Leo G. Carroll in a clever bit of cross-casting, and there's a cameo by an even earlier "Bond," but otherwise the show is unremarkable. Our aging heroes, drawn out of civilian retirement (explained for Ilya, but not for Solo), start out making a few slips what with being so long out of practice, but they're still in reasonable shape and eventually find their old groove. Both see lots of action, toss off many witty comments & wind up regaining to a comfortable camaraderie. Curiously, it's never explained what kept them out of touch through the years (had there a falling out, maybe over a woman?), nor is it ever made clear why top-agent Solo didn't get promoted to an admin position within U.N.C.L.E. (perhaps even to succeed Waverly?), and what events led to the ultimate demise of THRUSH years back. Technically, the show is low-budget with a heavy '70s kitsch (film stock quality is marginal, typical of the era, with lots of stock footage -- one clip through an airplane window shows unprocessed blue-screen!). The audio is poorly dubbed in places, with lots of distracting background noise. The stuntwork is pedestrian: a few cars get rolled "A-Team" style, dazed henchman stumbling from the wrecks; a villain dangles precariously from a helicopter skid, but only a few inches from the ground; an U.N.C.L.E. swat team rappels down Boulder Dam, a supered title identifying it as "Somewhere In Syria." This was a made-for-TV movie and everywhere it definitely shows up as made on the cheap.Come to think of it, though, that was the perverse charm of the '60s series, a four-year romp through cheeseboard sets and cheap pyrotechnics. This sequel may ring more true to the series than I originally gave it credit.

cassattokeffemaura Yes, the men from the United Network Command for Law Enforcement do exist. While shopping in New York City with John Kennedy, Jr., John and I were being chased all over the East Side of the city. In order to avoid the commotion, we came across a telephone booth. It is the same one used in the series Get Smart. Immediately upon recognition, John and I found our way into their Headquarters. Specter was still across the hall. The series of espionage wars is still in existence. David McCallum also works for the Presidio with Mark Harmon. Hebrew life has been documented visually for many years. We use the films in order to understand what has happened in our lives.

Jim Hannaford (sp27343) This is one re-union movie that had to be made. Fortunately it was made by a rabid fan of the original--a man named Michael Sloan who went on to produce "The Equalizer". Sloan and director Ray Austin (who directed many later episodes of "The Avengers") made sure they kept much of the tongue in cheek humour of the series, and made the movie a high quality venture, but up-dated it to then modern times (1983). A touching item was the stars made a point to notice they were getting to old for this kind of physical action, and that Illya points out "progress" is not necessarily a better thing. The supporting cast was first rate with Anthony Zerbe (what happened to him?), Geoffrey Lewis, Keenan Wynn, and especially Pat MacNee (former Avenger John Steed) as the new head of UNCLE...Its a shame a planned new series was not picked up by CBS.