The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Review
SURPRISE! Henry Cavill is playing a spy for the second time this year (see: Argylle). This time, instead of Matthew Vaughn behind the camera, it’s Guy Ritchie directing a WII tale ripped from the files of Winston Churchill.
**NOTE: Read Mark’s review below, then use the links to listen or watch as he and Ryan discuss the film in more depth. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
120 Minutes, Rated R
Written by Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Synopsis:
The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II.
Trying to describe The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is going to feel like I’m just running down a list of World War II/spy movie tropes. Stop me if you’ve heard this one:
In order to accomplish a near-suicidal mission to defeat the enemy, the country must call upon an elite soldier, but one who is currently incarcerated for being a “bad soldier.” He doesn’t play by the rules. He agrees, but only if he can put together his own team, which will be comprised of unconventional people with unusual backgrounds, but all of whom possess attributes absolutely necessary for the mission to have any chance of success.
You know: screw-ups.
Add this cast of characters to a mission that sounds like it was dreamed up by someone without a firm grasp of reality and/or a committee of chimpanzees who are really close to that final draft of Bill Shakespeare’s plays…
Yes, we’ve seen it all before…
…but…
…but the fact that this is “based on true events” (and you know how we feel about that designation, lol) that happened during the most destructive conflict in human history, raises the stakes a bit. Add to that the cinematic style of director Guy Ritchie and you’ve got yourself something interesting.
Sure, sure, the film also features (whether true or not) a young, pre-James Bond Ian Fleming during his time in Naval Intelligence working with Churchill (and who supposedly based his Gentleman Spy on Cavill’s character (March-Phillips…Gus March-Phillips; yeah… James Bond was a better choice)), which is ironic (though not unexpected) considering the various cast connections (both real and imagined) to the Bond cinematic universe, and you’ve got another reason to watch.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a bit of a return to form for Ritchie after Guy Ritchies’ The Covenant, with its signature cuts between narrative lines and locations and snappy-yet-snarky dialogue. The cast admirably carries off the convoluted plot, and the credit information reminds you that these characters are based on actual people who did actual things that were actually incredible and/or impossible.
It’s not his BEST, but it’s up there, and I’m happy to recommend it.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare hits theaters tomorrow, April 19, and stars Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza Gonzalez, Babs Olusanmokun, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Henry Golding, Rory Kinnear, Cary Elwes, Til Schweiger, and Freddie Fox.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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