By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Guy Ritchie has been hit or miss with his films in recent years, and this one falls somewhere in the realm of mediocrity. “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is a World War II action romp based on a wild true story from the personal accounts of Winston Churchill. The action is fun, the story interesting, but the lack of character development and comic book style approach create an uninvested experience.
It is the height of World War II, and the Nazi U-boats control the Atlantic, putting England in a precarious position without enough resources and assistance to defend themselves. With their backs against the wall, Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) makes a high stakes gamble to back an unsanctioned and improbable mission from Brigadier Gubbins aka ‘M’ (Cary Elwes). The mission is to send a team of special operators within German controlled waters to sabotage supplies essential to the U-boats’ maintenance, thereby freeing up the Atlantic enough for the United States to join the fight unmolested.
To pull this mission off, they need someone who doesn’t play by the rules. Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill) assembles a squad of morally loose cutthroats including Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), and Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding). Outnumbered and outgunned, they’ll need to bring every bit of their individualized special skills to bear on the Nazis if they hope to not only succeed in their mission, but also come out of it in one piece.
As wild as it may seem, the story depicted in this film is largely true. Ian Flemming, who is portrayed by Freddie Fox in the movie, actually based the infamous James Bond character off of the real-life Gus March-Phillips. The mission, the characters, the locations are all real, and the primary difference is Guy Ritchie’s directorial style and unique sense of humor are imprinted on the production to make it a more entertaining watch. To that extent, Ritchie succeeds, creating an R-rated action flick that is as humorous as it is brutally violent towards Nazis. However, Quentin Tarantino did this exceedingly better with “Inglorious Basterds.”
The cinematography is a bit more muted, not as creatively in depth as he’s used in the past like with “Sherlock Holmes.” Ritchie also mutes the characters, only giving them surface level attention that prevents the audience from connecting fully. He follows a basic formula, assembling his team of “Avengers,” each with their own powerful skillset that will come in handy for the mission. Also like a superhero movie, he crafts repeated action scenes in which the heroes are nearly invincible despite being significantly outnumbered. Somehow, their bullets always find their target while the villains couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. This creates a stress-free viewpoint for the audience, which detracts from the intensity and excitement of those scenes.
Even though the character development is a little lazy, Ritchie is bailed out a bit by a strong cast. Henry Cavill has a powerful screen presence that makes his effortless performance fun to watch. This is the second time he’s worked on a Guy Ritchie film, the first being “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” in 2015. Cavill will also be starring in Ritchie’s next film called “In the Grey,” alongside fellow castmate Eiza Gonzalez, slated for release in 2025.
Alan Ritchson (“Reacher”) is a scene stealer, generating memorable and funny moments as the physically imposing, yet casually psychotic soldier who prefers a knife or bow and arrow over a gun. Veteran actor Cary Elwes has a personal connection that makes him perfectly suited to this role. According to Elwes, his grandfather was recruited by the character he plays in the film to create a brigade in Albania to fight the Italians and Germans in 1943.
Overall, is it a fun watch? Yes. Is it worth rushing to the theater to see? No, you can have just as much fun streaming from the comfort of home. “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is entertaining and intriguing enough, but it leaves a lot of untapped potential on the table.
This movie earns:
