What to Watch Verdict
Guy Ritchie mines an incredible true story for a funny, violent and explosive good time; The Dirty Dozen for a new generation.
Pros
- +
Ritchie perfectly balances action, humor and pace for a thrilling experience
- +
A strong ensemble with standout performances from Cavill, Ritchson and González
Cons
- -
We only get to skim the surface on some characters
Hard to say if Guy Ritchie is ever going to get to direct a James Bond movie. So what's the next best thing? Directing a movie about the man who is supposedly the inspiration for James Bond in one of the more daring World War Two missions that you've ever seen. The result is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a fantastically fun, violent and explosive time at the movies can aptly be described as The Dirty Dozen for a new generation.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on the true story of Operation Postmaster, an unauthorized mission conducted by a small group of British soldiers tasked with crippling the supplies to the Nazi's fleet of Uboats in the Atlantic stationed on an island under the control of neutral Spain. In the movie version, Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill) leads his small but violent group of soldiers (made up Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding and Hero Fiennes Tiffin) in the raid, assisted by contacts on the island (played by Eiza González and Babs Olusanmokun).
There's little fuss with bringing this story to life, and that's honestly why it works so well. Ritchie opts for a straightforward retelling of events and expertly crafted action scenes that are more measured (especially compared to his early movies) but still thrilling to watch. Meanwhile, we get just enough of the characters to endear them to us.
In particular, Cavill delightfully plays March-Phillips with both charm and a roguish quality; Ritchson's violent Swede Anders Lassen offers some of the best laughs in the movie; González infuses her undercover agent Marjorie Stewart with swagger and determination; while Til Schweiger, playing the head Nazi on the island, is as evil as you could want.
The rest of the cast is solid as well, but they only get to scratch the surface with their characters. It's a bit disappointing, but in the end it is what was best for the movie so as not to slow things down and drag them out, as the movie moves at a nice clip and comes in at right around two hours.
That truly makes Ritchie's directing the star of the movie. While the flare that helped define Ritchie's early work (i.e., Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) may still be the thing Ritchie is most known for, he has shown in recent years to have pulled back on things like slow-motion action and other overt stylistic choices in his movies. And yet, through his tone he still makes movies that are unquestionably his. To go with this new, more laid back style is a fantastic decision for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, as despite the violent action of our heroes, it has an air of class to it all that serves as a perfect balance.
In the end, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is just what you want in a World War Two adventure movie — an incredible story of heroism, a strong ensemble and plenty of action. It immediately becomes one of the best movies of the year, as I'd challenge anyone not to have a fun time watching it.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare premieres exclusively in US movie theaters on April 19. It will premiere on Prime Video in the UK at an unspecified date this summer.
