150 Word Review: 'The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare' (2024)

Bad lads

Photo: Lionsgate

Guy Ritchie is a unique, brand-name director who can mint slick, sophisticated action dramas and messy, macho pulp comedies. He's like Quentin Tarantino if Quentin Tarantino hadn't been constantly feted for thirty or so years and declared a genius. Rithcie's movies are unpretentious and sometimes immature but always rousing.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is Ritchie making a blithe and violent WW2 movie. Loosely—very loosely—based on a true story, this light-hearted Dirty Dozen-esque romp follows a squad of unconventional British commandos on a behind-the-scenes search-and-destroy mission.

Henry Cavill leads the charge, a muscular star Hollywood doesn't understand. He's brawny, yes, but he's also brainy. Cavill plays a jolly good bloke who has a great deal of bloody fun executing Nazis. And Nazis are machine-gunned in shocking quantities. Alan Ritchson, a human tree, is splendid as one of Churchill's psychos. The rest of the team are beautiful and sardonic.

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