Henry Cavill Revitalizes Historical Action in Master Director’s New Blockbuster Winner

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is in theaters now; it tells the story of the misfit crew of men pulled together for a secret mission during World War II. It is no surprise that writer/director Guy Ritchie decided to turn this real piece of history into an action film once he got the declassified documents in his hands. It’s a Ritchie tale through and through. 

Winston Churchill was under intense pressure to agree to Hitler’s “appeasement” deal. He was counseled by his entire cabinet to concede, but Churchill saw this concession as surrender and refused to do so to a man he saw as the devil himself. 

The problem was that German U-Boats were blowing every ship in the Atlantic out of the water, including American vessels carrying supplies and resources to help keep England afloat. Churchill was hoping America would enter the war, but he knew they would never do so if they didn’t think they had a chance of success. Something had to be done about those U-Boats to turn the tide in the favor of the Allies. 

Enter Henry Cavill and the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. 

Churchill’s closest advisor, Brigadier Gubbins, or ‘M’, played by Cary Elwes, brings in the highly disruptive Gus March-Phillips (Cavill) to lead a small, secret, special forces team on a fishing vessel into the Spanish islands to destroy the ship that provides supplies to the U-Boats. If successful, this blow would be a serious one to the Nazis. 

March-Phillips pulls together a motley crew of ruthless killers with reputations for being more than a little crazy. The team includes Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), a “mad dog” who is just as good with a knife as he is with a bow and arrow, Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), a brilliant strategist, Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), a master sailor and weapons expert, and Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), an explosives nut. 

There’s also a two person team on the island where the vessel is docked. Babs Olunsanmokun plays Heron, an undercover spy posing as a bar owner in Nazi territory. And the marvelous Elza Gonzalez plays Marjorie Stewart, the spy tasked with wooing and distracting the brutally vicious Nazi in charge of the island, Heinrich Luhr, played brilliantly by Til Schweiger. 

It is no surprise that this secret crew sailing toward the island meets with unexpected twists and turns and handles them with beautifully choreographed punches, kicks, and throat slits, and that the humor, in typical Ritchie fashion, is both dry and incredibly witty. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare makes you cheer and smile, even as this unsanctioned team is confronted with increasingly impossible odds that include Churchill’s British advisors attempting to sabotage the mission. 

GFR SCORE

While this movie is a bit slower than some of Guy Ritchie’s best films, I would say that is to be expected for a film based on history. We need the background. I’d still encourage everyone to rush to the theater and see it on the big screen. 

You may be able to read about this moment in history, but you’ll never experience it the way it deserves to be experienced without getting Guy Ritchie’s take.

Or, just go see it to stare at the always hunky Henry Cavill. 

Either way, you’re winning.