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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the latest action adventure romp from Guy Richie featuring an ensemble cast led by Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, and Eiza Gonzales, and tells a tale based on the 2014 book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis. We follow the team of Gus March-Phillips (Cavill) as he leads a ragtag team of misfits in completing Operation Postmaster for the Allied Forces during World War 2.
Everytime we get a Guy Ritchie joint, we know we're getting any one or all of the following: unabashed violence, jolly good British chaps, and snappy dialogue. Think of him as a British Quentin Tarantino. As such, we've been blessed with fun rides such as The Gentlemen, the two Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes films, and Snatch. However, he's also had his share of duds like Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and the live action adaptation of Disney's Aladdin. So where does Ungentlemanly sit in the spectrum of his work? Well, somewhere in the middle.
A lot has been said about how the film is like Inglorious Basterds, and that observation is spot on. We have a strapping wildcard of a soldier leading a team of disparate individuals to complete a mission that may or may not tip the balance of World War 2. Where the comparisons end is in how different the writing is between the two. We don't need to go over how great Tarantino is. Tarantino is a writing god. To Ritchie's credit, the good entries in his filmography mainly are those written and directed solely by him (like Quentin). Ungentlemanly has 4 credited writers (Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel, and Ritchie), and one can feel that the film is straining under the weight of 4 credited narrative masters. Where Ritchie's solo efforts have a certain streamlined feel to them, this one has a sense of all writers wanting to go a different route with the final product. As a result, the film's flow suffers. There are instances of satisfying hyper violence in this, but they're sandwiched between too many expository scenes that sometimes repeat what we already know.
Thankfully, the cast is game and it shows. Cavill is having a blast playing March-Phillips as a reckless devil-may-care maniac, and special mention goes to Ritchson as Anders Lassen, a soft-spoken killing machine who gets some of the film's winning punchlines. Til Schweiger as Heinrich Luhr is serviceable as the film's antagonist, but isn't in the film enough to leave a mark.
All in all, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a fun trip to the movies featuring an ensemble that's clearly having fun onscreen, a somewhat satisfying albeit not enough amount of violence, and quips galore. If you're expecting The Gentlemen-levels of Ritchie greatness though, you're better off watching that gangster classic again.
CINEGEEKS RATING: B+
See the Trailer here:
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