The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare movie review: A gamey show of strength during wartime

Set during World War II, this true story is about a top-secret assignment given to handful of criminals/mercenaries from the British Army to carry out a mission against the Nazi forces

Film: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare 
Cast: Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Cary Elwes, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun
Director: Guy Ritchie
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 120 min.

Some declassified documents from the Winston Churchill era becomes fresh fodder for this war movie. Set during World War II, this true story is about a top-secret assignment given to handful of criminals/mercenaries from the British Army to carry out a mission against the Nazi forces behind enemy lines. This secret British WWII organization was denoted the Special Operations Executive and founded by Winston Churchill, to effect irregular warfare against the Germans. It has now come to light that their almost impossible act helped to change the course of the war.

The film credits its basis to a book by Damien Lewis called Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperados of World War II, published in 2014 and not the book by Giles Milton titled ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ published in 2017. So don’t get confused.

The narrative opens in January of 1942, with an opening scene highlighting the distinctive abilities of the big-chested heroes. They have not only just dispatched a squad of Germans who came on board their innocent looking fishing boat for inspection but also blasted an entire German gunship. The narrative then cuts back to 25 days prior. We get to understand that Churchill and British military intelligence, represented by Cary Elwes and Freddie Fox (who plays Ian Fleming) concoct a scheme in which a special ops force will sail down to the Gulf of Guinea and take out a ship packed with supplies for the dreaded  U-boats. Thus making way for America to enter the war against the Germans.

While the action and suspense set pieces are executed with the usual exaggerated flair, there’s not much else to gain from this movie. The timelines are corrupted when compared to the real facts and the bravura acts depicted here feel as though our heroes were unbeatable. Might not have been the case in real life. The movie plays out in typical Ritchie style but also fails to generate any heat or tension as it reaches it’s preordained climax. Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, Alex Pettyfer and Henry Golding play smart in this semi-fictionalized account. There’s nothing dictinctive about their performances here. They exist after all in a Guy Ritchie film that promises more than it delivers. Scripted by Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel and Ritchie, the film rarely rises above it source material. There’s hardly any tension or excitement here. Neither does the entire operation feel realistic. It’s as though Ritchie did not want to dwell on what could go wrong during that period. A distinct lack of research appears to be this film’s undoing. The film is largely interesting because it highlights a chapter from World War II which was kept a secret for long.

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