The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, 2024.
Directed by Guy Ritchie.
Starring Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, Henrique Zaga, Til Schweiger, Henry Golding, and Cary Elwes.
SYNOPSIS:
Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare arrives on 4K Ultra HD, with a code for a digital copy and a Blu-ray included too. Unfortunately, there’s just one bonus feature, a brisk 24-minute making-of featurette, but maybe that will be rectified later. It would have been nice to get more of a tribute to the men who carried out Operation Postmaster in real life during World War II.
You’ve probably experienced this too: sometimes I watch a movie and, as the end credits roll, I think to myself, “That was fun. Not awful, but not amazing either. I enjoyed myself. Not sure I’ll watch it again, though.”
Such was my reaction to Guy Ritchie’s latest movie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Based on a true story, but taking plenty of liberties along the way, Ministry chronicles the exploits of the men (and woman) of Operation Postmaster, a secret World War II mission aimed at disrupting the Nazis’ resupply efforts for their U-boats. With the Germans’ U-boat operation hampered, the Allies hoped that more of their supply runs across the Atlantic would be successful.
Henry Cavill stars as combat veteran Gus March-Phillips, who’s brought into the Winston Churchill-backed mission to recruit a group of ne’er-do-wells who have the chutzpah to put their lives on the line for an effort that likely wouldn’t be revealed to the world until long after the war. Even Churchill had an “I never heard about this” attitude toward the operation when it was planned and carried out.
Fun fact: James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, who’s portrayed here by Freddie Fox, really was part of the Operation Postmaster planning, which inspired his famous creation. And, yes, there’s also a man known as “M” (Cary Elwes), who in real life was Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins, a central figure in the clandestine war effort.
Gus enlists a crew that includes Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), and Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding). They set sail in a Swedish fishing trawler for the Spanish-controlled island Fernando Po, where they plan to disable a Nazi ship. Their mission is so secret that they’ve been told they could end up in prison if a British ship intercepts them.
Meanwhile, operatives Richard Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) have arrived at Fernando Po ahead of the group, with the goal of getting the trust of the local Nazi officers and keeping them occupied while the sabotage happens. Til Schweiger gets to chew some scenery during this part of the film as Heinrich Luhr, your standard-issue sadistic Nazi commander.
The operation doesn’t quite go as planned, of course, which is a big part of the fun when watching this movie. In typical Guy Ritchie style, the commandos have a “devil may care” attitude toward everything that happens, especially when a situation really goes awry. I realize a lot of this story has been exaggerated from reality, but I’m sure the actual Operation Postmaster was pretty harrowing for its participants.
The cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is solid across the board with the exception of Rory Kinnear’s portrayal of Churchill. I suppose the best way to describe his performance is that he seems to be trying too hard to adopt the prime minister’s particular speaking style, and as a result he tips over into caricature.
Unfortunately, the bonus features found here are sorely lacking. In fact, there’s just one extra, the 24-minute making-of The Ministry of Filmmaking. It’s not a bad featurette, but it’s a pretty cursory overview of the film, which is a bummer considering the real history that could have been included here, from the particulars of the actual Operation Postmaster to Fleming’s involvement.
At least there are title cards at the end of the movie that let us know what happened to the real soldiers, most of whom didn’t survive the rest of the war, unfortunately.
A code for a digital copy and a Blu-ray with the movie and the lone bonus feature round out this release.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
