The latest film from Guy Ritchie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, tells the story of a group of operatives that are not only extremely attractive and fit, but they have also been brought together to save the world. This isn’t the Avengers. Or even the Suicide Squad. In fact, it’s not even a superhero movie at all. It’s based on a true story from World War II that was, in recent years, declassified and made public.
SYNOPSIS
From the official film website:
Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.
I love history. I grew up in a town where something historical happened on nearly every single corner. So it’s not a surprise that a movie about World War II operations helmed by Guy Ritchie and starring some of my favorite actors landed at the top of my watch list. But was it worth the time? And more importantly, was it worth a trip to the movie theater?
With a little Pirates of the Caribbean mashed up with Oceans 11 and whatever your favorite war movie might be , The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is exactly what you imagine when you hear Jerry Bruckheimer and Guy Ritchie are working together. Clever banter, awkwardly hilarious situations, and over the top action keep things moving at a decent pace with just enough history dropped in to keep things grounded in reality over fantasy.
Henry Cavill is exceptional as the leader of this OG A-Team. For a man who went viral previously for facial hair controversy it feels like Cavill’s mustache has grown into its own character that, at times, really deserves its own credit in the film. (This along with Alan Ritchson’s biceps and shoulders!) Unlike the proper English gentleman spy that he played in one of Ritchie’s earlier films, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Cavill portrays this character with just enough proper British manners mixed with full on mischievous rapscallion. It didn’t take long for audience in the fully packed theater to be ahead of the game and laughing in advance of his antics because they already knew what to expect.
Alan Ritchson steps out from behind the very large Reacher shadow and transforms to a bespectacled, humble, yet vital member of the team. The intricate choreography in every fight scene is both a celebration of Ritchson’s incredible ability to move with a light deft touch and his stunning overall size. You usually don’t see someone with shoulders the size of a building and biceps that could be called nuclear weapons instead of guns moving through fight scenes with such precision and swiftness.
Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) and Cary Elwes (Princess Bride) round out the cast with brilliant performances that show off their range of depth. Both have their own unique sort of engagement with the audiences that pulls attention no matter who else is on the screen with them.
Based on a True Story?
One of the first things I learned when I was starting out in my career was that ‘based on’ can cover a multitude of changes and updates to any ‘real life’ story. That’s one of the reasons I don’t get too uptight about whether every part of a film is one hundred percent historically accurate. There are several reasons for this (which I will probably outline in an article to come later) but the biggest one is that life doesn’t care at all what pacing is like but audiences who buy tickets do. That said, Guy Ritchie and his creative team did a great job keeping this one moving forward and grounded in some sort of context for the audience. I appreciated the follow up at the end of the film to highlight the actual people and what they did with their lives after the events of the movie took place.
If you are looking for something fun to go watch in theaters this weekend, I highly recommend you give this one a shot.
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