MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Spy Action Comedy/Stars: Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Til Schweiger, Henrique Zaga, Rory Kinnear, Danny Sapani, Freddie Fox, Olaf Kayhan, Mert Dincer, Ethel von Brixham, Koray Tarman/Runtime: 120 minutes
I think it might surprise you to learn this dear reader, but contrary to the law of popular opinion not every movie needs to win awards in order to be seen as a “good movie” by the critics or, even more importantly, the general moviegoing public. Not only that, but there are also slices of cinema out there which, whilst a great many other critics may have chosen to either dismiss completely or ruthlessly nitpick into oblivion, I have found myself enjoying immensely time and time again. Yet even though the reason for this is still one that people are attempting to determine, the two most popular answers incidentally for what it’s worth being either I am nowhere near as critical as my so-called peers or I merely haven’t forgotten how to just kick back and enjoy a movie for what it is, the fact still remains that there are quite a few films out there which might not have the best Rotten Tomatoes score or ever get mentioned for being nominated for this Oscar or that Golden Globe, but which also are undeniably a blast from start to finish. The reason I bring this up to you dear reader is because the new release, and slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today incidentally, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare from iconic director Guy Ritchie is most assuredly a film that very much fits into the aforementioned group of films. To be sure, it could win an award for Most Needed to Be Shortened Title, and yes both the tempo of the film does struggle at points to say nothing of the fact that you might be able to figure out just where in the world this story is headed at times among other issues here and there, but honestly for all the issues that this slice of cinema has it cannot be denied that this is still a genuinely fun and entertaining cinematic ride from start to finish. Indeed, through a mix of delightfully over the top action, genuine spy intrigue, fairly skilled work behind the camera, and a collection of game performances from an extremely well-chosen cast of performers in front of the camera The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is one slice of cinema that most assuredly is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but which wears the high level of fun with which it chooses to operate as such an esteemed badge of honor that don’t be surprised if you too find yourself persuaded by it into going along on the journey that it wishes to take you upon and smiling from ear to ear at all the glorious bloodshed and chaos that occurs along the way all the way until the credits at long last begin to roll.
The plot is as follows: An adaptation of a 2014 book by Damien Lewis, our film gets underway by taking us back in time to the long-ago year of 1941 where things are more than a wee bit grim for the United Kingdom. This is because, due to in large part to a certain conflict known as World War 2, not only are the British facing extraordinary difficulty in keeping Nazi Germany at bay in their mission to take over all of Europe, but a certain close ally of theirs (5 guesses and the first 4.5 don’t count as to who that is) has yet to officially join the conflict and even worse German subs are tragically succeeding spectacularly well in their efforts to consistently take down vessels designed to bring supplies and aid to Allied soldiers. As a result of all these calamities beginning to seriously take a toll on the British war effort, we see that a certain Brigadier Major-General named Colin Gubbins, or “M” as he was also known, has managed with indirect aid from British PM Churchill himself, to cobble together a plan that will begin to swing things in favor of the Allies once more. We soon learn that this plan, known as Operation Postmaster, is a covert sabotage op that has the principal objective of throwing quite the significant wrench in the capability of the Nazis to resupply their subs from an island known as Fernando Po. To accomplish this, we see that Gubbins decides to engage in a bit of an unorthodox tactic. That being that, rather than recruit a group of prim and proper soldiers who would engage the enemy on so-called “fair terms”, he instead brings on board a roguish commando named Gus March-Phillips and, upon springing him from prison, charges him with bringing together a group of fellow rogues including a Danish naval officer (who’s also quite handy with a bow and arrow incidentally) named Anders Lassen as well as a whiz with explosives named Freddy Alvarez and a phenomenal sailor named Henry Hayes to locate and subsequently obliterate an Italian supply ship known as the Duchessa d’Aosta. Doing so should, in theory, prove to be quite the crippling blow to the swarm of U-Boats that are currently out in force in the Atlantic Ocean. Yet as our bearded and mustached wonder and his squad make their way to Fernando Po, we also see as a pair of official operatives named Marjorie Stewart and Heron are dispatched ahead of them to sort of clear the way so to speak with the former being assigned to seduce the Nazi official in charge of the port and the latter being a club owner with connections who can effectively establish misdirections which should help the British A-Team sailing in fulfill their mission. Of course, as is often the case with these stories, it should come as no surprise to learn that things rarely if ever go to plan. As for what this means for our teams of operatives, I think I’ll let you discover that for yourself dear reader….
Now right off, it should be noted that the work done behind the camera here might have a few hiccups, but overall, this is still a fairly solid effort all things considered. This, to no surprise I hope, starts with the work done at the helm by Guy Ritchie. Yes, like a lot of movies he has helmed for audiences as of late, this one contains more than a few of his trademarks. In other words: expect a fair bit of style and flair, delightfully quippy banter, a degree of toughness, and quite a lot of kinetic action. Yet whereas that might not have worked in some of his other films it actually works to a decent extent here. Not only because of the group at the heart of the film, but because the story being told is one that is handled with a surprising degree of levity and lightheartedness especially when taking into account the fact that this was a fairly dark time in world history when these events took place. Of course, for some there might be an issue with this slice of cinema’s script especially in how it doesn’t really provide the characters with any solid amount of characterization beyond their name, a few distinguishing features about each, and how they choose to dispatch Nazis. Yet when you realize that this slice of cinema is less one that cares about making its characters three-dimensional in anyway and more about just being a fun “turn your brain off at the door” kind of film that really starts to make a lot more sense. We are also treated to wonderful work here from cinematographer Ed Wild. Indeed not only does Wild do a great job at presenting to us the film as a whole (with particular regard to the action scenes) in a fairly clear and concise manner, but he also shoots this in a way that feels like we are watching an old school war movie from back in the day like 1967’s The Dirty Dozen. A creative choice incidentally that works to this film’s benefit immensely well. Of course, I would definitely be amiss if I didn’t take some time in this section to talk about one of the true MVPs in terms of the work done behind the camera. That being the work done on this slice of cinema’s musical accompaniment by Christopher Benstead whose score here does a wonderful job of brightly conjuring up the kind of score that Ennio Morricone might have given something a’la Force 10 from Navarone had he done the score for it. That and, besides being a gem of a score, we also see that Benstead’s work here also does a wonderful job at making clear to the audience that this is by no means a grim and dark World War II movie, but rather a popcorn film that takes a true story and puts a fun yet sensationist twist to it. Suffice it to say that yes, there are creative liberties most assuredly taken with this particular true story and yes, there are a few issues here and there with the overall telling of this rather distinct take on said true story, but there is also no denying that what Guy Ritchie and his team behind the camera have managed to bring to the proceedings is no less than a sense of genuine enthusiasm and enjoyment. Both in the story being told and in the manner in which they all, in their own ways, help to bring it as vividly to life as they are able to here.
Of course, the other department that can cause a slice of cinema to either sink or swim would without question have to be the work done by the cast of performers in front of the camera. Thankfully, that’s not an issue that this particular slice of cinema is afflicted with as the cast assembled to bring the various characters in this film to life all, by and large, manage to do a terrific job with the material that they are given (or lack thereof). Without a doubt in my mind, this starts with Henry Cavill who, free from the constantly in flux plans of a certain comic book universe, is an absolute delight here. Indeed as Gus March-Phillips, Cavill does a terrific job at bringing a mix of swagger, charm, incredible facial hair, and snarky to the role and, in the process, giving us both a top-tier performance as well as perhaps a covert audition reel to be the next 007. Far and away though the performance that I feel is going to stick with me for quite some time is the one given here by Alan Ritchson who is nothing short of an absolute joy as Anders Lassen. Indeed Ritchson does a wonderful job of giving us a character who is equally at home at not only tricking Germans into thinking he’s harmless through the utilization of a hilariously over the top Swedish accent, but also at completely and utterly annihilating them with a swiftness and variety of weapons including bow and arrow, axe, and truthfully whatever else he can get his hands on. Now backing this pair of performers up is a fairly solid support cast, but even among them there are at the very least a couple of talents who I feel are worthy of individual mention. The first would have to be the always enjoyable Cary Elwes as Brigadier Gubbins. Indeed I have, for the most part (there is one exception), enjoyed seeing Elwes whenever he popped up in something and here he does a terrific job at giving us a individual who might be stoic and serious, but who is also open to working with people that other officials might either raise an eyebrow on at best or lock in prison and throw away the key at worst. Yes it’s very much a supporting role, but Elwes manages to make it work to the best of his ability and you can definitely see how Ian Fleming might have gotten inspiration from this individual when he created the character of M for a certain series involving a certain super spy. The other supporting talent worthy of mention would have to be Til Schweiger in an antagonistical role that is definitely a vast 180 from the one he played in the similar war film Inglorious Basterds from 2009. Yet what I like about what Ritchie and Schweiger are able to do with this character is they build him up as someone for the audience, and characters themselves, to fear less through having him commit any atrocious acts on camera and more so through dialogue and implication. As a result, whenever a certain character has to interact with him there is definitely an unease and ominousness present that really helps to raise the stakes and suspense present in the film immensely well. Suffice it to say that when you also incorporate into the blend game efforts from such talents as Eiza Gonzalez who is definitely a force to be reckoned with here, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, a fairly unrecognizable Rory Kinnear giving us his take on iconic prime minister Winston Churchill, and Freddie Fox among others it’s clear that they might not have been given as much characterization to work with as they would like, but everyone in the cast looks like they are having an absolute blast no matter how big or small their role may be.
All in all and at the end of the day is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare a perfect slice of cinema by any stretch of the imagination? Sadly no, but that’s ok because not every slice of cinema has to be perfect in order to be enjoyable. At the same time however, is this the worst slice of cinema that Guy Ritchie has ever decided to tackle as a director? Thankfully no, but if you are curious about the identity of the film that DOES possess that dubious “honor” that would be 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. A film that, for what it’s worth, did in fact made me want to go and challenge it to a one-sided jousting match at Medieval Times just so I could completely and utterly destroy it before it could infect anyone else’s sight. All jokes aside dear reader, there is no denying that I love this slice of cinema with a passion. Yes the film does have a few issues to it’s name, yes it’s not the most accurate in the world, and yes it’s title definitely is one that I would not have had a problem with them deciding to shorten significantly. With that being said, there is also no denying that there is a fair bit of lively skill operating behind the camera and the cast of performers, despite some getting lost in the shuffle, all manage to give fairly engaging turns here no matter how big or small their overall amount of screentime in the proceedings may be. Suffice it to say then that if you want a rousing war epic that is not only historically accurate, but which will also bring out quite the healthy range of emotions from within you, the viewer then definitely check out 1998’s Saving Private Ryan to name one of the more, if not the most, noteworthy examples that immediately comes to mind. On the other hand, if you are looking for a war film that might not be the most accurate in the world, but which offers you the viewer quite the engaging, thrilling, and just plain fun journey then this slice of cinema is one that should definitely be right up your alley. Suffice it to say then that The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare might not gain the History Channel’s stamp of approval anytime soon (if ever), but for people in the mood for a fun popcorn war film where a previous portrayer of Superman and the latest portrayer of Jack Reacher among others are given the chance to gleefully and mercilessly butcher Nazis in ways that would make The Expendables proud to say nothing of strongly consider offering them membership then definitely give this slice of cinema a try. Sure, it’s not the next Oscar winner by any means, but in all fairness I have yet to see an Oscar winner that would dare to give you the twistedly delightful imagery of a man smiling from ear to ear as he kills Nazis with a bow and arrow like a World War II black ops-take on Marvel’s Hawkeye either. Make of that what thou will dear reader. On a scale of 1-5 I give The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare a solid 3.5 out of 5.
