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Serious move aficionados know what to expect from a Guy Ritchie joint these days and even though the celebrated filmmaker has mixed it up as of late with more serious fare like Wrath of Man and The Covenant, he still has enough sparkling humor and unapologetic flair to fill several movies. Ritchie expects his audiences to be somewhat educated and knowledgeable and when viewing one of his offerings, one usually has to be awake and alert to savor all the biting dialogue, juxtaposition and fervor that he encases in one of his films.
Enter The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and with it Ritchie has delivered a throwback WWII action-comedy that harkens back to the days when serious studios put out movies like this with a celebrated and star-studded cast coupled with an epic tinge of storytelling and bombastic set pieces that will satisfy fans of all genres of film. This is Ritchie at his eye winking, elbow nudging best coupled with a first-rate cast that is all in for what he’s selling. It’s hard to put this movie into one theater of genre a sit is filled with a multitude of what makes cinema great and even though some might feel it’s tamer by Guy Ritchie standards, I had buckets of fun with this one as it combines satirical and politically incorrect humor infused with savage and bloody battle action. The movie is a most likely, one of the best theatrical experiences this year with a cast that is charismatic, and equal parts absurd at the same time. If I had to do this review with simply one sentence, it would be:
Superman, Reacher & Snake Eyes do WWII Guy Ritchie style so what’s not to love!
I’ll elaborate more, of course, because that’s what I do but Henry Cavill proves with sheer force that he is indeed the next man to step into the role of James Bond as he plays real life war hero Gus March-Phillips and this true to life character is perfect for Cavill as it gives him a chance to showcase his charm, bravado and wit all in one package here. As the film starts out, Phillips is incarcerated but that all changes when Prime Minister Winston Churchill, fearing that the Nazis are not playing by the rules, decides to counter that by forming the first ever black ops squad in history. It’s basically time to get nasty folks and take it to the Axis powers with no remorse.
Gus accepts the mission in a hilarious scene where he is talking to his superiors and proceeds to steal cigars, whiskey, a lighter and more while chatting away. it’s a simple yet humorous sequence that reminded me of the glorious Monty Python days. What is the mission you ask? Well, the Nazis are crippling the Allies with their army of U-Boats so it’s up to Phillips and his merry old band of throat slicers to take them down in a hail of patriotic bad assery. This is an unofficial, unsanctioned and unauthorized endeavor to which Phillips and his cohorts are constantly reminded so if they’re captured by the British, it’s jail time and if they’re captured by the Nazis…well…enough said. What could go wrong?
With the mission set, Phillips gathers his team that consists of a band of misfits including the “Danish Hammer” Anders Lassen (played to perfection by Reacher’s Alan Ritchson), demolitions expert Freddy “Frogman” Alvarez (Henry Golding), young Irishman Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and the expert planner of this ragtag assortment of devil may care soldiers Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), who is captured at first leading to the movie’s first A rate action sequence. Each member has their own skill set, reason for wanting to kill Nazis in the most inhumane way imaginable and personality ticks which makes for a fun watch as they unite to stop the world’s greatest evil.
It’s important to note that Ungentlemanly Warfare is loosely based on the true story of Operation Postman which eventually turned the tide of the war and led to the formation of military special forces but when I say loosely, I mean LOOSELY. In hindsight, not a single shot was fired during the actual mission but here Ritchie fires millions of shots including explosions, hand to hand combat and Ritchson going crazy with a bow and arrows. This film version has enough bloodshed to fill two war pics and you must suspend a little disbelief as our heroes ransack an army of Nazis.
Phillips does have help though in the form of two undercover agents on their side including Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González). Marjorie is a singer and actress who is selected to infiltrate and seduce a ruthless Nazi officer (Til Schweiger) during a party commencing when the mission is going down. Stewart is a master shot with weaponry and I would have liked to have seen her mow some Croutes down, but her mission required other tangible assets that she has. This subplot, I feel, was a little tacked on and it took away from the five-man unit and their comradery, but it still was a solid effort all around.
Like I said, Ritchie’s Operation Postman goes down with some massive carnage in tow and this leads to the movie’s thrilling set pieces including the rescue of Apple as we get to see just how dangerous these men are for the first time. At one point, Cavill’s Phillips reminds everyone to “try to have fun” as they slice their way through the Nazis, and they do it effortlessly and with complete abandonment for human life. After all, nazis are inhuman and I can never get enough of seeing their kind get butchered in war films. You can never have too much brutal and unforgiving Nazi killing in my book and Ritchie makes sure that fans get their fill here. It’s almost priceless to see Ritchson’s Lassen do his thing as it is essentially a thing of blood-soaked beauty. Let me just say that there are numerous scenes of Lassen shooting Nazis with arrows only to pull said arrow out of said Nazi and proceed to stab other Nazis with the same said arrow. Yeah, there’s that and it is glorious in an epic and completely welcoming savage way. I also revealed when Cavill’s Gus mowed down Nazis with his tongue hanging out and a sadistic and unsettling look on his face. Pure cinema gold and you could tell Cavill was relishing all of this.
There is also a lengthy stealth scene towards the end as the mission changes parameters when things go awry forcing our merry band of Nazi killers to infiltrate a vessel and proceed to cut their way through helpless enemy combatants. It’s a long sequence that plays out perfectly and with complete disregard for realism and I loved every second of it and how Gus and his crew made it look so easy.
This mission was, of course, the basis for the creation of James Bond with Ian Flemming himself (Freddie Fox) as one of the British intelligence officers in charge of the mission. Cavill’s Gus was the true inspiration for 007 and one character even has the nickname of “M.” He’s played by a scene stealing Cary Elwes who is responsible for recruiting Gus. Ritchie also plays loosely with all this but it’s more than OK because the film constantly winks at the audience along with the Nazi annihilating mayhem. This is essentially Ritchie’s take on Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards which also featured Schweiger in a role.
Overall, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare plays it lean and loose with historical facts and delivers a more cathartic revenge themed war pic. It alters the course of real events, but Ritchie simply smiles and says “Hey! Come on and enjoy the ride!” Cavill is perfectly cast here and shows that he’s more than just Superman and Ritchson steals the show as the “Danish Hammer” in both performance and brazing battle action. Everyone else from Golding to Gonzalez all have their moment in the sun and Ritchie spreads the wealth with all involved.
The action set pieces are expertly choreographed, bloody, bullet riddled and barbaric and all of us Nazi haters will squeal with delight when the enemy is dispatched of with lethal and unflinching precision. Ritchie knows what kind of film he has here and makes no qualms about filling the running time with as much Axis dispatching as he can. A lot of Nazis died in the making of this movie and that suits us just fine.
This is newer Ritchie mixed with a little old school circa Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and his biting wit and language takes center stage once again with ample amounts of biting humor to spice up the bloodletting. Ungentlemanly Warfare is a spaghetti western, complete with music, spliced with a crackling WWII era adventure and it gets a hell of lot more right than it does wrong. Ritchie serves up a master class on how to mix genres with the right amount of humor and bloodshed.
VERDICT: 4 Out of 5 Stars
Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a Crackling Cocktail of Eye Winking Wit and Bombastic & Savage War Action with a Sensational Cast that Goes All In!
