The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

 

 

Movie Name/Year: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Genre: Drama, Action, Comedy, War

Length: 2h

Rating: R

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writers: Guy Ritchie, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel, Damien Lewis

Based On: Book "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops" by Damien Lewis

Actors: Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Henry Golding, Rory Kinnear, Til Schweiger, Freddie Fox, James Wilby, Henrique Zaga, Danny Sapani, Matthew Hawksley, Simon Paisley Day, Mark Oosterveen, Victor Oshin, Alessandro Babalola, Orshuff Emmanuel Mele, Tim Seyfi, George Asprey, Luca Marrocco, Paul Antony-Barber, Bikiya Graham Douglas, Nikolas Salmon

 

IMDb Blurb: The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II.

 

 

Cat’s Point of View:

When I tell you I was excited to watch The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare leading up to its April 2024 release, it's, in fact, a gross understatement. This movie was one of the small handful in recent years I was practically bouncing off the walls with the anticipation. There was never even a question of where it would land on my personal Top 20 list that month. This production about these marvelous military mad men was absolutely my #1 pick.

 

It didn't surprise me that Selina had The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare pegged as her own #1 entry. What did give me a moment of pause, and made me giggle, was that her blurb that month fairly echoed my own thoughts on the film almost verbatim.

 

We were absolutely here for a movie where we got to see Superman kill Nazis with gleeful abandon. Yes, yes, it's clear that Henry Cavill (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Enola Holmes, The Witcher) was not actually in the red & blue super suit while gunning down Nazis, but ever since Man of Steel (2013) he has etched himself into my heart and personal cinematic landscape as the caped embodiment of the symbol of hope – and one that the late Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) would be proud of. (Of course, except when sporting long white hair, but that's an entirely different scenario. I digress...)

 

 

Watching interviews of Cavill pretty much, if low-key, geeking out over the actual history behind this band of men that thwarted the 3^rd Reich's Atlantic U-boat campaign throught Operation Postmaster was one of the most wholesomely joyous things ever. The man who was presumptively in line for playing 007, himself, ended up in the role of the man that inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond in the first place. In one interview, Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike, Endless Love, Back Roads) explained that Cavill also pretty much “saved his life” while shooting this film. Pettyfer had a near misstep and loss of balance while transitioning between boats while filming and attributes Cavill for hauling him back to safety in the nick of time.

 

Okay, okay... enough rambling about that. You get the point. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare simply gave me so many reasons to fangirl and do a lot of geeking out of my own.

 

 

Cavill and Pettyfer weren't the only names among the cast I was excited to see. Alan Ritchson (Titans, Fast X, Reacher) playing Anders Lassen was another source of joy from this production. It was glorious to watch him rack up possibly the largest kill-count in close-combat with Nazis in the movie, with his character's rage-fueled glee. Then, of course, Cary Elwes’ (Saw, The Princess Bride, BlackBerry) was magnificent with his wry delivery, and Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful, Skyfall, Black Mirror) was an excellent choice as Churchill. Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After, The Silencing, The Woman King), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, The Gentlemen, Last Christmas) , and Til Schweiger (Inglourious Basterds, Atomic Blonde, Charlie Countryman) were also on point. Eiza González (Baby Driver, I Care A Lot, Godzilla vs. Kong) was an excellent choice for this WWII badass lady of mystery and espionage. Babs Olusanmokun (Dune: Part One, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Book of Clarence) phenomenally delivered his character's measured and seemingly calm demeanor – while being no more peaceful than a body of water with a deceptively still, glassy surface but powerful and deadly currents underneath.

 

 

When Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Wrath of Man, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is involved with a project, I just expect a really good viewing experience – and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was no exception. The banter was on point, and the comedy was expertly woven in as Ritchie is known for. It was all seamless and felt right in the moment. There were never any forced laughs or any that didn't fit the scenes. This is a good example of why people just say “Yes” when Ritchie calls them, before they even know what he's pitching.

 

When you pair that with the experience and production value that Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Top Gun: Maverick) brings to the table, it becomes pure movie magic. For example, all of the boat shots used for this movie, for the most part, were shot on actual boats out on the water and not on a sound-stage. It brought an extra layer of realism with the practical effects, and helped the story become more immersive.

 

Action lovers have plenty to enjoy here from hand-to-hand, lots of gun-fighting, plenty of explosions, and even a fair bit of archery.

 

 

While quite a lot of the movies based in the history of WWII tend to be super serious, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare manages to bring an edge of levity and an extra helping of excitement to its task of bringing this slice of the actual events from the last World War to the big screen without being disrespectful. The story was taken straight from Churchill's declassified documents and brought to the public eye and attention through a historian and former war-reporter's book – and now The Ministry of UngentlemanlyWarfare adapted that for the screen. Of course, there's likely to be some wiggle-room in the historical accuracy of some of the events for the sake of cinematic license, but that doesn't change the core of the story based in fact.

 

If you are a fan of any of the cast, production team, or genres I've mentioned here at length, my recommendation is to watch The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare as soon as you can get your hands on it – and you likely won't be disappointed.

 

 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 69%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 93%

Metascore – 55%

Metacritic User Score – 6.6/10

IMDB Score – 6.8/10

 

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5

 

P.S. - While there isn't a mid or post-credits scene for this movie, there is a segment where the real people involved with Operation Postmaster as shown in this movie have an homage with their photo and a small epilogue blurb for each citing what happened for them afterwards. 

 

A Little Lagniappe ("something extra") - You can visit the official website for the movie here. You can also watch the Extra interview where Cavill and crew discuss making the movie and includes Pettyfer's description of how Cavill saved him.

Movie Trailer: