Round Table - More Returning to the Return Movie

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

My attention was hijacked by the topic of the Return Movie, that little bit of MFU that either disappoints entirely or piques one's interest in the possibilities of something different.
I don't hate it, don't love it.  I do find it interesting and, as many who might read this will already know, I have a series of stories based around it and the whole Vanya thing.  As for the movie itself, I found this article and think it's worth a read as a prelude to a discussion; you can find it HERE
One of the things the writer points out is how different the two main men were in their appearance, primarily how well each had aged.  As we mostly will agree he mentions that David McCallum is looking very good, not much different from his 60's Kuryakin, while Robert Vaughn seems much older than 50.  I'm paraphrasing but that's the gist of it.  And I agree, and I wonder what kind of a difference that made to the success of the film; was RV just too removed from his days as the young and dashing Napoleon Solo to satisfy the viewers?
Of course that has nothing to do with the script or the fact that the two main characters spent so little time on screen together, which was the whole point of a reboot of the series.  Their chemistry is what made the show work, so to lose that to a miscue in the scriptwriting department was very disappointing.
Having said that, the McCallum scenes are gold to me, I watch the movie and fast forward to every frame that features him.  I know I can't be the only one doing that.
So, anything you want to say or discuss about this not quite engaging movie?

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

The article pretty much hit the nail on the head with everything. So many nots to 007 and not enough to the original UNCLE. If it really was an attempt to reboot the series, they forgot one word...'cool'. The movie was definitely not that. I agree that Robert didn't look that good in it, unlike David. They have aged differently but are both still very handsome men to this day.

A weird side bar; I've always wondered why Robert switched parting his hair to the other side. I think he always looked better with the way he parted it while filming the original series.

I guess actors try to do somethings to change their appearance to disassociate themselves from previous roles, like the way David grew his hair so long (not a good look for him, but neither were those awful checked or plaid jackets he wore either. week)

[vmccooley.livejournal.com]

I agree that Vaughn looked much better with the "Napoleon Part." The difference between his look in the pilot and the rest of the series is striking.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

The article hits all the points. It's just too bad that no one seems to have ever been able to do MFU except the original team, and all of us who write fiction of course. :D

[carabele.livejournal.com]

Okay, trivia fact about the Napoleon part: Originally RV did part his hair the other way from the "Napoleon side". Shortly after filming the pilot for MFU, he changed hairdressers and that resulted in the changed side for the part. But that hairdresser was one that was actually murdered with Sharon Tate in the infamous Manson killings. So I think after the series had ended, RV returned to the original side of the part because the other was a bit too reminiscent of the slain man.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Now that's creepy... Wasn't Vaughn actually invited to that infamous party and decided not to go?

[carabele.livejournal.com]

Yes. He mentioned that in his autobiography.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting little bit of information. I do prefer that 'Napoleon part' however, it was flattering.

[carabele.livejournal.com]

I prefer it as well.

[vmccooley.livejournal.com]

I don't know what movie everyone else watched, but in the one I did, both men looked great.

My movie is also very short. It consists only of their shared scenes. Thank goodness for chapter skip.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

We want what we want... :D

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

One important part of that movie that hasn't been discussed is the terrible acting skills of others. The "Russian" female had the worst accent I've ever heard and her acting skills were abysmal.

The loud UNCLE agent that worked with Napoleon must have been a relative of one of the producers. Why else would he have been hired? He was way too load and annoying and detracted from the movie.

Perhaps they could have used less actors in the assault scene (Which I guess was supposed to be a spectacular highlight of the film) and spent that money on BETTER actors.

What about the lack of gorgeous females at UNCLE headquarters?
"Girl Friday" was "Girl Horrible."

Then there's the music. Why did the bother to change it from the original? It was already recorded and would have appealed the to the original audience, including myself.

I didn't think Robert looked older that 50, but compared to David, who always appears younger than his actual age, Robert seemed the older of the pair.

Too many mistakes on the part of producers and directors caused this movie, which should have led the way for a return of the series, to be a lackluster flop.

That's my opinion, anyway.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Definitely the Russian accent from that actress (whose name escapes me at the moment) was very bad. The agent was supposed to be a New York with a broad accent and dubious manners. Notice how Napoleon sort of grooms him a little by the end of the movie. David is chameleon like in his appearance, like in the 'good old days'. His phone repairman bears little resemblance to the cool number being flirted with by the UNCLE gizmo girl.
Honestly, this makes me want to get the movie out and watch it.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

The phone repairman bit is the only redeeming scene in the whole movie.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Can I put in a vote that I think RV looked just fine? What did surprise me was his gaucheness with the disrobing model: that did seem oc.

Of them not being together...I had a feeling they'd economised on the scriptwriters (I get that feeling a lot in modern movies) and clever dialogue wasn't in the budget.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I just thought he had changed so much more than Mr. McCallum, it was quite a different look from the Solo I remembered.

[st-crispins.livejournal.com]

Except for his scenes with DMc, which are my favorite of the movie and really the reason to watch it, something seems wrong with Robert and/or Napoleon. I know Illya has a back story about leaving UNCLE, but it seems that Solo must have left after something bad happened as well. It was actually the reason I began writing fanfiction and what became the St. Crispin's universe.

Years later, I saw an early episode of Hustle and there was a moment that RV smiled Napoleon's smile. It was like, finally, Solo was back. And that's what I wished had happened in Return.

[otherhawk.livejournal.com]

Actually, I find it really easy to believe that RV in Hustle could be Napoleon. There's a lot of the same charm there, in my opinion.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

I suppose had there actually been a reboot of the series we might have eventually had a few explanations, and even a move to the more soapy type of story lines that were beginning to be popularized in night time shows.
For my part I've created my reasons for each man's actions in the House of Vanya series. This one relates to Napoleon's departure...http://archiveofourown.org/works/344497