TL;DR – Big personalities and a lot of action, but not a lot more than that.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Review –

If there is one film that people have asked me for, it is what happened to The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare? It looked like it was everywhere, and then it disappeared, but that cast and director should have cut through. Well, today, we have a chance to answer that question and give it a look as it finally got a release here in Australia.   

So, to set the scene, it is the height of WW2, and things are not going well for the Allies. In the middle of the Atlantic, patrolled by German U-Boats, a sailboat is being inspected by Nazis. The Nazi Commander does not like the laughing Swedes, even less when those Swedes mow down all his men. It is here that we discover just what is going on. The UK is the last significant power in Europe, not occupied by Axis Powers, and they are being cut off from the air and sea. Hitler is not playing by the rules, storing the rearming operations for the U-Boats in neutral territory. Well, then, it is time for the UK to retaliate with a group of soldiers who do not play by the rules. Led by Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill), Operation Postmaster, all they have to do is sink an Italian Ship in neutral territory before the Nazis move it. To do this, they need a team: Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), the navigator; Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), the explosives expert; Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), who is good with wet work, and Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer) intelligence. With Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) embedded on the island of Fernando Po, it should all go fine … right …?   

 Now, before we dive in, I need to say that this is based on a real-world event during WW2. However, I have absolutely no idea how well this maps to real life. I have a feeling that it plays a bit fast and loose with what really happened, even though most of the cast were playing real-life people. It is always a bit odd to see a film with real people in an actual event still be fictionalised, but generally, I would say I think they pulled it off. Also, if you are looking for a film that explores the ethics of war and the use of tactics like this, I am sorry, but this is not the film for you.  

There are two reasons a film like this works. The first is the chemistry of the cast, and I don’t just mean the several explosions throughout the proceedings. Everyone here has a big personality, which can clash in films like this. However, here, they all complement each other, which is a strength for the people doing the casting. I think Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson get to cut loose the most. However, every single person gets to have multiple badass moments throughout the movie. Unfortunately, this is also where the film gets held back a little because I feel it spent too much time in the set-up on Fernando Po and not enough with the core cast. This comes from someone who truly loves Babs Olusanmokun as an actor.  

The second reason this movie worked is that the enemies were Nazis. There is a lot of violence in this film, indiscriminate killing, and even a few war crimes in places. If the enemies were literally anyone else, I think the audience would end up sympathising with them instead. However, given it is the Nazis, and thanks to the commandant Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger), you don’t get to pretend these were just German soldiers. This creates an almost John Wick-like feeling that acts like a bubble between the action and the reality. All the action scenes work pretty well, with the highlight being the big heist at the end.

In the end, do we recommend The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare? Well, I will say that there is a lot of violence in the film, a lot, and it is not going to be for everyone. They try to keep the tone light, but your mileage may vary there. I had a good time, but I don’t think this will have any lasting effect. If you liked The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, we would recommend to you Godzilla Minus One.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you watched The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Directed by – Guy Ritchie
Screenplay by – Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel & Guy Ritchie
Based on – Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis
Music by – Christopher Benstead
Cinematography by – Ed Wild
Edited by – James Herbert
Production/Distribution Companies – Black Bear, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Kinopoisk, Toff Guy, Red Sea Film Fund, C2 Motion Picture Group, Media Capital Technologies, Lionsgate & Amazon Prime
Starring – Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Henry Golding, Rory Kinnear, Til Schweiger, Freddie Fox, Henrique Zaga & Danny Sapani
Rating – Australia: MA15+; United States: R