The Helicopter Spies (1968)

Best movie ever!

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Blistering performances.

The men from UNCLE are at it again.Taken from year four when most say the UNCLE series was dead, The Helicopter Spies turns out to be the most colourful UNCLE movie of the eight films. Some of the dialogue from Bradford Dillman is outstanding and Robert Vaughn as Solo is cool as always.Who could not like a film where Carol Lynley turns to the bad guy and says "I think you guys are strange, really strange".The whole cast totally shines, this might even be my favourite UNCLE movie together with: To Trap A Spy.Don't be turned off by this being just a two-part TV episode re-edited into a movie, this has a nice feature film feel about it.

I just got the Man From U.N.C.L.E. collection for Christmas. I have seen the movies before and knew they were all really good. I had forgotten how good the action, stories and humor are in the films. All 8 films are basically 2 part shows from the series. A few of the earlier films added some extra footage for the theatrical release. Solo & Illya are wonderful as always, especially Illya. I like David Mccallum a lot because he seems to be a real good guy in real life. I cannot finish the review without mentioning Carol Lynley. She never looked more beautiful in any show or film. And as another reviewer said, she wears some really short mini-skirts. She has maybe the best pair of legs in show business. Check her out in Once You Kiss a Stranger. It's available on the Warner Brothers Archive Site. She walks around in a green bikini for a good part of the film. She showed that she has a great looking body from top to bottom!

Though the final season of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." dispensed with the embarrassing campiness of the previous one, it went too far in the opposite direction and was far too humourless and cold to watch. But there was an exception, and it was the two-parter "The Prince of Darkness Affair" from which "The Helicopter Spies" was taken. Not too heavy on sense, but funny without being silly, fast-moving, and always entertaining (which was to be expected, since it was written by the show's best scribe Dean Hargrove). And you have to laugh at the movie's last lines - although note that they spend very little time in helicopters...

Some episodes of this show have dated badly but this two-parter is still pacy and highly entertaining. U.N.C.L.E. is pitted against, not one, but two megalomaniac supervillains intent on world domination. When the first one perishes, the other takes over (sort of like a relay race). Bradford Dillman is great fun as the pompous baddy, the ultimate failure of his plans greeted with a hopeless shrug by his ageing guru (John Carradine). The climax is typical race-against-time stuff but is staged and scored with great energy. Recommended!