The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Starring Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez, Alen Ritchson, Henry Golding
Directed by Guy Ritchie

World War I was known as The Great War, as no one ever experienced such a war on that grand scale. Then came World War II, and that war was one that changed the course of history - especially when it comes to cinema. There's very few movies centering around World War I ("1917," "War Horse," "The White Ribbon" to name some), but when it comes to World War II, there's an abundance of films about it. Some focus on the atrocities the Nazis committed against the Jews ("Schindler's List," "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"), while others focused on the war itself ("Flags of Our Fathers," "Defiance"), and others that are fictionalized stories centering around the war ("Inglourious Basterds"). "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is one that sits in the center - a recently declassified story that's highly fictionalized for the sake of cinema, but one that's entertaining enough to be enjoyable even though it seems far too simple for these ne'er-do-wells to accomplish their impossible task.

It's 1941 and World War II is raging in Europe, with the British facing almost certain defeat. The Americans can't make it there because German U-boats will sink them in an instant, and pressure mounts for Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) to surrender - but he has a trick up his sleeve. Operation Postmaster, an off the books black-ops sabotage mission to disrupt Nazi U-boat supplies on the island of Fernando Po. To accomplish this task they enlist a gang of rebels who don't listen to authority, led by Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), who's team consists of his right hand man Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), super spy Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez), archer Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), explosives expert Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), ship captain Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and club owner Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun). The plan is to have Marjorie and Mr. Heron infiltrate the island while the others sail in at night to destroy the main ship holding the supplies, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of these rogues who have everything to lose, but act like it's just another day.

Guy Ritchie is a director that really needs no introduction, and one that maintains his style throughout his work, so when you see this film you know this is undeniably a Ritchie film. Apart from the split screens, epic character introductions, and over-the-top action sequences, there's always plans within plans (which plays out when the film's major hiccup occurs), one female character (Eiza Gonzalez fits this role), ridiculously strong men (it's laughable when you see giants like Cavill, Ritchson and Pettyfer and then at the end you see pictures of the actual men, and let's just say they look a lot less...chiseled), and he always includes some sort of icon from British literature - this time it's Ian Fleming, who's James Bond character is loosely based off Gus. It's nice when a director maintains his tropes as it keeps you in a safe space where you know fully what to expect - and since this is a World War II film, you know that the good guys will win, and the Nazis will lose tremendously: but it's the journey that's enjoyable.

You get the story: a seemingly impossible task led by a ragtag group of rebels with no rules (and less fear) infiltrate an insurmountable army and somehow come out victorious. Again, there's no surprises, but the action more than makes up for the thrills, as well as the performers on screen. Henry Cavill is both every woman's dream and every nerd's hero, and plays Gus as a real-life superhero with no fears (and no fashion sense, as he always desires someone else's jackets). The remainder of the cast is also exceptional, performing heroic feats like they're taking a walk, dispatching hordes of nameless Nazis with effortless ease. Even when problems arise, they never falter or show fear, but instead plan something even more outlandish that, of course, works.

World War II films are simplistic in that as long as you have Nazis getting their butts kicked, you don't mind how thinly written the script is. And this script is paper thin. Despite it's runtime there's not a lot of character development to be had, but rather major chunks of time is spent in exposition hell, as well as the charming camaraderie that the actors share that's the meat and potatoes of the film. Between explosions, shootouts and espionage, the relationship between these men (and one woman) is fun, light-hearted and enjoyable.

Yet throughout all this, the film is exceptionally safe. Again, you can't have the Nazis winning, but there should be some stakes, some tension, some real problems that the heroes can't face (or at least take longer than thirty seconds to come up with a plan B). None of that is here, making the film a totally safe experience that's enjoyable enough, but needed some tension to make it more memorable. Even after leaving the theater I was forgetting a lot of stuff that happened - and while that's generally a bad sign, I still have good feelings in my gut for the film, meaning the stuff that happened was so good at the moment it left lingering feels from it.

While taking the safe route and not having any real tension, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" excels in its action, style, and performances that makes this a mixture of "Inglourious Basterds" and "The Dirty Dozen" as told through Guy Ritchie's unique lens.

The Score: A-