Review for The Return Of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

If you're looking for an objective review of this made-for-TV movie then forget it. 'The Man from Uncle' features strongly in my half-remembered earliest TV memories, probably a mix of having viewed it, having read about in comics, and having become Napoleon Solo in my own back yard playing with the MFU spy-kit carefully separated from its blistered card packaging. Had I done the sensible thing and not played with it, shooting down neighbours with a plastic version of that cool black pistol with the silencer, I could have sold it today for north of £500 - such is the cult power of this iconic series.


When I first started collecting DVD's I was disappointed that so little MFU was available in the UK. Five of the eight movies were made available (compiled from TV episodes) but absolutely NO episodes. As a result, on a recent trip to the U.S. I picked up the complete series box set in its neat little case. What a treat! So then I was only three of the original compilation movies short of a complete set - apart from the 'Return of the Man from Uncle', released 15 years after the original series ended, and only available in the USA …until now.


Before I get into any detail about the film, it's worth saying from the outset that it's remarkably faithful to the spirit of the original series; cold war spy thrills set against the thrilling back-drop of the sixties branding; U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) and T.H.R.U.S.H. (Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity).


Cancelled in its fourth lengthy series in 1968, 'The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.' appeared in 1983 when the cold-war spy party was pretty much over. It was intended as a feature-length pilot for a new series but sadly, that never happened.


The movie had been slated for a while and was going to be a big budget cinematic outing, like James Bond, with big production values and theatrical release, but in the event, was merely a TV movie, though actually rather a good one. This was produced at a time where there seemed to be a glut of 'Return of…' movies on TV, which were proving very popular and a cheap way to guarantee at least a certain popularity for network advertising. (Others released around this time included The Six Million Dollar Man, , McCloud, The Mod Squad, Cannon, Columbo, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Bionic Woman).


Ex-THRUSH leader, Justin Sepheran, manages to escape from prison (spectacularly hanging from the landing gear of a helicopter) and he soon re-groups with his team who have been operating in his absence. They manage to appropriate a nuclear device and are soon demanding $300 million from the US Government. (Why does that put me in mind of Austin Powers!?). U.N.C.L.E.'s new boss Sir John Raleigh (none other than Avengers favourite, Macnee) decides to bring Napoleon Solo (living on his wits as a gambler) and his moody sidekick Ilya Kuryakin, now a fashion designer, out of 'retirement' and back into the action. Hurrah!!


Fifteen years may have passed but the Solo and Kuryakin still look in very fine fettle with nothing more than a grey hair or two betraying the passing of time. To bring the point home there is a hilarious sequence where Solo tries to access U.N.C.L.E. HQ through the back of a dry-cleaning store like in the old days, to the bewilderment of the owner.


The duo are soon hot on the tracks of THRUSH helped along the way by none other than George Lazenby as "JB", driving an Aston Martin round Las Vegas with Solo - a clear nod to another genre favourite. The movie ends up being a bit cat and mouse in common with much of the series but it's all great fun with never a dull moment.

The film's conclusion, inside THRUSH headquarters if the stuff of early Bond and Austin Powers and requires a very big suspension of disbelief but it all functions marvellously as good old fashioned action packed entertainment. No intellectual demands for this cold war thriller - the enemy are baddies and the goodies win.

It's all directed by numbers by TV veteran Ray Austin, whose CV includes cult favourites like The Champions, The Avengers, The Saint, Space: 1999, The Love Boat, Wonder Woman, and Hart to Hart, so it's safely competent and comfortingly familiar, if hardly ground-breaking.


The transfer is excellent with a crisp picture full of sixties colour - no grim and grainy eighties reality for this outing, thank god, despite its release date.

There are no special features to speak of other than a gallery of publicity shots.


'The Return of the Man from Uncle - The Fifteen Years Later Affair' is a long way short of being the franchises finest hour. That honour rests with the best episodes from the original TV series. However, it's not its worst hour either though you might have expected it to be. Fans of the series will certainly enjoy it and, until an R2 version of the series is released, it will help fill the time gap for those unprepared to import the R1 set.