The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

It’s no surprise that Guy Ritchie’s big-screen adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. plays fast and loose with its source material.

The British filmmaker who turned Sherlock Holmes into a bohemian action hero uses the 1960s television espionage drama as a jumping-off point for his own interpretation, which keeps the period setting but jettisons much of the show’s international intrigue in favor of shootouts and car chases.

The result showcases plenty of visual flair but not much substance beneath the spectacle, turning into a buddy comedy of sorts with little of the sociopolitical texture that the Cold War setting might warrant.

It’s essentially an origins story about the top-secret organization with the acronym U.N.C.L.E., which was launched in response to a worldwide nuclear threat from a mysterious criminal collective. So the agency forges a reluctant partnership between former CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and ex-KGB operative Ilya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer). While they secretly harbor hostility for one another, the pair teams with the daughter (Alicia Vikander) of a German scientist who holds some key information, while trying to outwit villains who want them dead.

Ritchie has fun with the period re-creation amid a whirlwind tour of European locales, although his decision to keep the film set in the 1960s is a curious one, given the film’s obvious intent to lure a younger demographic more oblivious to the political landscape of the time.

The cast (which includes a prominent female role, unlike the series) should help in that regard, with Cavill (Man of Steel) channeling Robert Vaughn’s original portrayal of the debonair Solo. He’s a Brit with an American accent, while Hammer (The Lone Ranger) is an American with a Russian accent in the role that Scottish actor David McCallum played in the show.

The screenplay by Ritchie and producer Lionel Wigram features some snappy one-liners and amusing sight gags. Yet it never establishes sufficient tension because of its tiresome bickering and lack of a menacing villain.

As ridiculous as it sometimes was, the TV show was popular enough in its day to warrant a handful of films and other spinoffs, and the intent here is clearly to launch another franchise for a new generation. But Ritchie and his collaborators first need to solve their identity crisis — whether to pay homage to their predecessors or stand out on their own.

Rated PG-13, 116 minutes.