Guy Ritchie is one of my favorite film directors. He knows how to take even the most mundane topics that are difficult to understand and turn them into flashy, entertaining presentations. Who would have thought, then, that I’d walk out of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare underwhelmed and slightly disappointed. It isn’t his worst film by any means. It’s just tamer than I would have liked it to be.
The story follows the height of World War II, where the UK struggles to overcome Nazi Germany’s takeover attempts. With the indirect backing of Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear), Brigadier Colin Gubbins (Cary Elwes) enlists the help of Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill) to carry out Operation Postmaster. This secret, off-the-books sabotage mission is greatly fictionalized in the film. Yet, it’s presented in a way that would draw your attention to the long history lesson.
Great choices of music, action sequences, and casting lead to an entertaining experience.
You might be wondering how I walked out of the film underwhelmed. But before I go into that, I’d be remiss to not list off the positives. Firstly, Ungentlemanly Warfare contains some great action sequences and bloody kills. Who wouldn’t want to witness entertaining takedowns of Nazis on the big screen? To pair with these scenes is an excellent sound design that puts you right in the middle of war. Interestingly, the team included some modern music to accompany these scenes as well. The choice, while curious, has the potential to reel in viewers from all backgrounds and preferences thanks to the adrenaline-inducing selections.
The casting choices are also really exceptional here. Each character has their time to shine onscreen in creative moments. But the real standout and a potential crowd favorite would have to be Alan Ritchson as Anders Lassen. Lassen was a Danish soldier who [at least onscreen] could wield a bow and arrow like no other. Ritchson depicts him with such strength and command while also showcasing his comedic skills on full display. I wouldn’t be surprised if he became the audience’s favorite, especially with his infectious charm.
Ungentlemanly Warfare contains some great action sequences and bloody kills. Who wouldn’t want to witness entertaining takedowns of Nazis on the big screen?
Gonzalez also stands out as Marjorie Stewart, putting on an enticing performance that sizzles with fiery conviction. In every scene that she is in, my eyes were glued to the screen, and I wanted to see more of her performance. Disappointingly, Cavill played his role a bit safely. As the lead, he was simply outperformed. And it feels as if he was out of his comfort zone as a result of other actors having better moments.
The quality of Ungentlemanly Warfare is bogged down by few stakes.
With Ritchie’s cool visual storytelling and a plethora of entertaining war sequences, there’s really only one component of Ungentlemanly Warfare that soured the overall experience. For a war movie that is as intense as this one, it never felt like there were any true stakes. Perhaps that is a script mishap. After all, there are four screenwriters on this project. However, this just wasn’t the film to get this major feature wrong. Even during the rescue mission, a 5-on-50+ battle of the rescue team vs. Nazis felt a little too easy. And even when things tended to go awry, I never had a concern that the team wouldn’t find a way through the chaos.
Ultimately, Guy Ritchie’s latest isn’t exactly what I expected from the director, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if I am going to be honest, I walked away disappointed. With great music, violent action sequences, and mostly superb performances from the actors, this could [and should] have been a sure victory. Instead, it fell a little flat thanks to a script that refused to offer any real stakes within the storytelling. This isn’t Ritchie’s worst film by any means. To be fair, it’s still quite a successful body of work. But I certainly expected more.
Check out the Lionsgate trailer for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare below:
