This WWII action spy comedy feels like Guy Ritchie’s version of Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, only this time the story is (loosely) inspired by real-life events. The great cast ensure this is a fun ride, even if it may not make a lasting impact.

Premise: In 1941, ‘M’ (Cary Elwes) recruits Major Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill) to put together a team for a deniable, unsanctioned black-ops mission to destroy the supply line for the Nazi U-boats by conducting a raid on the neutral Spanish-controlled African island of Fernando Po, in the hope that this will enable the Americans to send troops and supplies across the Atlantic.

Review:

Unlike Inglourious Basterds, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is based on real-life events, namely the secret World War II British covert mission Operation Postmaster (albeit a very fictionalised version of those events). But despite this, the tone of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – with its blend of bloody action, larger-than-life heroes, and sadistic Nazi villains – feels far closer to Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 “alternative history” movie than it does to most other war movies.

This film feels very much in keeping with Guy Ritchie‘s recent run of movies, where since 2020’s The Gentlemen he’s moved away from the British gangster genre and tried his hand at a wide variety of different tones – tense and gritty in 2021’s Wrath of Man, silly and throwaway in 2023’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and surprisingly sincere and dramatic in 2023’s Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. He’s been cranking the films out at quite a pace (four films in four years, and that’s not counting his work on the TV version of The Gentlemen), and although none of them have been all-time classics, they’re all been definitely worth a watch.

“…an excess of charisma is brought to the movie by its cast…”

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare absolutely fits into that categorisation too. It may not contain any huge surprises, and there may be few moments that are likely to stick with you long after the end credits roll ... but it is a really enjoyable watch and there’s plenty to keep you entertained for the 2-hour run time. A lot of this is due to the excess of charisma brought to the movie by its cast – Henry Cavill is clearly having a tonne of fun as the British military man who thinks outside of the box, while Alan Ritchson brings a playful sense of humour to his portrayal of the Danish member of the black-ops team (in his best role since his breakthrough in the Reacher TV show).

Eiza González (who’s always great in every role she plays) carries the B-plot as the Allied spy sent to take care of the island’s Nazi commander (played with menace by Til Schweiger), and she’s ably assisted by Babs Olusanmokun who’s playing the island’s version of Rick from Casablanca. Cary Elwes gets to chew the scenery as Brigadier Colin Gubbins, the inspiration for ‘M’ in the Bond novels, and Freddie Fox actually plays Ian Fleming from his time with the British Secret Service. Continuing the Bond theme, we also have the former-Tanner-actor Rory Kinnear playing Winston Churchill, while Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer and Hero Fiennes Tiffin round out the rest of the clandestine team.

“…the action is bloody, over-the-top & tongue-in-cheek…”

The action sequences involving the commandos are bloody and over-the-top, but with their tongue firmly in their cheek, while the B-plot involving the spies on the island provides plenty of tension and suspense. Overall, while none of it reinvents the wheel exactly, it’s all good fun in the moment.

As long as you treat this as a piece of fictionalised entertainment rather than a historical documentary, there is plenty of fun to be had thanks to Guy Ritchie’s relentless pacing and the cast’s screen presence. Audiences would do well to take onboard Gus March-Phillipps' (Henry Cavill) advice to his squad: “Remember, gentlemen – try to have fun”.