Review: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Guy Ritchie has been seemingly working nonstop recently, releasing two movies last year, the recent The Gentlemen series on Netflix, and, most recently, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a fun action romp that feels like a combination of Inglourious Basterds and Ocean’s 11.
Based on actual events (and the book Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damian Lewis), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare stars Henry Cavil as Gus March-Phillips, an incarcerated soldier whom the Special Operations Executive recruits for an unsanctioned mission during World War II. The Germans are dominating the North Atlantic and sinking any ships that travel those waters, but if March-Phillips and his unorthodox team of operators can take out the supply ship that delivers crucial equipment to the U-Boat fleet, they can cripple it and get much-needed aid from the US. While March-Phillips and his team sail to the neutral Spanish island of Fernando Po, two other team members, Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez), try to sabotage and distract the Nazi forces on the island, led by sadistic but calculating Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger). The movie does an excellent job of flipping back and forth between both sides of the mission, although there may have been some way to condense the scenes of the primary team sailing, as it feels like they are on that boat forever. There’s also not a lot of dramatic tension, both because there’s the historical hindsight of knowing the mission succeeds but also from the fact the movie makes March-Phillips and his team feel invincible, casually taking out dozens of Nazis while cracking wise and barely breaking a sweat. A few complications arise that could have added some tension, but it’s all resolved relatively quickly and easily. It makes the movie breezy and fun but lacks any sense of danger or tension.
The cast is fun, with some entertaining banter and teamwork between Cavill and his squad. Cavill brings all of his charm and chaotic energy to March-Phillips, coming across as a proper gentleman outside of combat and turning into a tongue-wagging maniac when the fighting starts. Alan Ritchson is a standout, with some of the best action scenes in the movie, which utilize his character’s use of bow and arrow to great effect. Eiza Gonzalez and Babs Olusanmokun are a great duo, and their side of the mission feels the most like a heist movie as they try to lay out the complicated plan before the rest of the team arrives to blow stuff up. Gonzalez’s scenes with Til Schweiger have some Inglourious Basterds energy and add some much-needed tension even if they don’t reach the armrest gripping tension of any of the Christoph Waltz scenes from Basterds. Kudos to Gonzalez for her accent work, as she has a very convincing British accent, which has sunk many a non-UK actor (Ritchson’s Swedish accent is a little more hit or miss).
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a breezy and fun action movie that delivers tons of Nazi killing action but maybe won’t put you on the edge of your seat with tension. The cast is excellent and seems to be having a blast, and it’s got the fun complications of a good heist with the big explosions and firefights of an action blockbuster. If you’re a fan of Guy Ritchie’s style and looking for a lighter side of World War II, check it out.