User Reviews

Guy Ritchie's "Ungentlemanly Warfare" is based, kinda, on the true exploits of Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Unsurprisingly, given Ritchie's involvement, liberties have been taken with the story.

The SOE existed to operate behind enemy lines, committing sabotage and various other acts considered ungentlemanly by the upper crust officers who ran the conventional army. In 1942, England was starving and its army could not be resupplied because German U-boats owned the seas. With the blessing of Winston Churchill, the commander of the SOE sent a team to destroy the Duchessa d'Aosta, a supply ship that supplied all the carbon dioxide filters for the U-boats. These filters permitted these submarines to remain submerged for prolonged periods. By disabling the supply ship, the U-boat fleet would be effectively sidelined. The mission was labelled Operation Postmaster. It took place in January, 1942. This story centers on the real characters - Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), Anders Larssen (Alan Ritchson) and Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer) - who were sent to complete this mission. In this film, some totally fictitious characters and other amalgamations of real-life participants also tagged along.

"Ungentlemanly Warfare" contains all the satisfying flourishes of a film by Guy Ritchie ("Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Sherlock Holmes," "The Gentlemen"). This film is cool and stylish. It's filled with swaggering characters spouting cheeky dialogue. There are flashbacks to keep the moviegoer off-balance. There are first-rate set pieces/action scenes. Oh, and there's violence - lots and lots of violence, most of it gratuitous. Did I mention the violence? The entire package is delivered with a manic gleefulness that's contagious.

While the story is "based on true events," reality is just a jumping off point. This film suggests that a major role of the operation was to persuade an officially neutral US to enter the war and begin helping Britain. Pearl Harbor occurred the month before, so the US was already fully engaged. The film also suggests that by disabling the supply ship, the SOE's mission could change the course of the war. While the events depicted in "Ungentlemanly Warfare" were not unimportant, a bigger factor was the development of RDX, an explosive powerful enough to sink the U-boats in the open sea.

The film offers an interesting side note. One of the staffers for the SOE depicted in the film is a young officer named Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox). Yep, that Ian Fleming. His boss was known as M. In his James Bond novels, Fleming incorporates the character of M. Fleming has noted several times that the character of James Bond was based on Gus March-Phillips.

To summarize, the cast here is charming and appealing, in no small part because they appear to be reveling in their madcap roles. Some of the location shots (much of the movie was filmed in Antalya, Turkey) make the film as worthwhile as a NatGeo documentary. The "true story" is a muddled mess. And there's the violence, lots and lots of violence. (Historical note: no one was actually killed during Operation Postmaster, although one Nazi soldier fainted at the sight of the intruders.) Guy Ritchie's energy and enthusiasm, which permeate this piece, will win over a lot of the folks in the seats.

As a fan of both Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie, I was thrilled to find an early access showing of this movie at a nearby theater.

Ungentlemanly Warfare looked to be a good time, and indeed it is! It's a neat story and they made the telling of it fun. Thankfully it isn't goofy. It's not nonstop jokes, but it has a good sense of humor and I heard a good bit of chuckling in the theater throughout the movie, much of it coming from myself.

You can tell Cavill had fun with this role. He shows off some range as his character is very different from the brooding muscle man that many people associate him with. It was delightful watching him do comedy. I haven't seen much of Alan Ritchson's work, but it was easy to see why he has such a growing fanbase. He's the muscle in this movie and proves to be a great action star. The whole cast is great and they give us a lot of fun characters.

Action-comedies seem to be Guy Ritchie's specialty. He maintains a good balance of action and comedy and works so well with large casts as he lets every character feel like they matter to the story.

With the Nazis advancing across Europe and U-boats cutting off the safe passage of supplies and soldiers from America, Winston Churchill decides to take an unorthodox approach. He turns to a man to undertake an unsanctioned mission to turn the tide of the war and give Great Britain and the rest of the world a fighting chance.

This movie is based on documents declassified in 2016. It shares the story of these brave men in a simple, humorous, and straightforward way. The movie is a mix of war, espionage, and history. The action is not over the top, gory, or excessively violent. This is an excellent watch for history buffs, spy fans, or anyone looking for something entertaining and not requiring a lot of thought.

Cinemark has brought back its Secret Movie Series, and having never been to such an event before, I found myself intrigued and, for the low price of $5, I simply couldn't resist buying a ticket. I was one of six people in the theatre - clearly, a secret movie experience is a hard sell. However, I was excited at the prospect of watching something without knowing exactly what it would be. And after the trailers concluded, the lights dimmed and the film began to roll - to my delight, the secret movie was "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare."

As a Guy Ritchie fan, after having seen the trailer for this movie, I knew I wanted to see it - although, admittedly, I didn't think the trailer was especially striking. However, I like Ritchie, and I love Cavill, so I was pleasantly surprised at the reveal of this film being the secret movie. And you know what? This is actually a pretty fun flick.

Yes, there is nothing too innovative at play here - this is standard Ritchie fare, except more nuanced and less extreme in its directing and editing choices than, say, Ritchie's King Arthur film. "Ministry" plays out more like a typical action adventure movie with flares of Ritchie's signature style coming out here and there; and this more subdued approach actually works to the movie's advantage to highlight some of the more dramatic and intense moments. But if you're going to see this film, you're most likely going to see it due to the action that the trailer promised you. And how is the action? In a word: Great.

My only complaint about the violence in this film - not to sound too bloodthirsty - is that it is surprisingly bloodless for an R-rated movie. I was really expecting something akin to Quentin Tarantino, with huge spurts of blood and gory deaths, but Ritchie, once again, takes a more subdued approach, choosing not to showcase a lot of blood or grisly images. That said, the action in this movie is still FANtastic, playing out an intensity that is simply missing from most modern action movies. There are plenty of shootouts - both with guns and with arrows; there are knife fights and axe battles; there are hand to hand combat sequences; basically, all of the WW2 action you can imagine is in this movie, and it's filmed wonderfully, without shaky camera or quick cuts. Sure, I would've preferred a bit more blood when Nazi's were punched or shot or sliced, but I can't knock Ritchie for choosing not to include that for the sole reason that the action is filmed so freaking well. It's nice to watch an action movie that has two things: 1) a lot of action and 2) clearly filmed action. Luckily, "Ministry" has both of those things, and because of that, will be sure to satisfy even the most jaded action junkie.

In Ritchie films, both the plot and the actors are always standouts, and it's no different here in "Ministry." Cavill and his band of ungentlemanly warriors are all super entertaining to watch, their chemistry leading to many laugh out loud moments. Additionally, the plot - as IMDB puts it, "a small group of highly skilled soldiers strik(ing) against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II," offers a lot more meat to chew on than you might expect. There are a lot of things happening concurrently, which leads to storylines converging in a pretty satisfying way. There are also a few unexpected moments that force the plot to go in directions I didn't expect, but certainly enjoyed watching. The plot isn't anything phenomenal, but it kept me engaged and was a great vehicle for its characters and action.

"The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" is a good time at the theatre. This doesn't necessarily offer something that you haven't seen before, but in a genre as tired as WW2 action is, "Ministry" shakes things up just enough in terms of its colourful characters and explosive action that you can't help but have fun watching this. And if you're a fan of Guy Ritchie? Then going to see this is really a no brainer.

Saw in RPX earlier today not sure why barely others were seeing maybe it was just that showing. For a movie that has to do with nazi's and a group that takes them out I very much enjoyed this take on taking down a bunch of nazi's very fun thrill ride all around deserving of the high ratings! I especially loved the main leads like Alan Ritcherson and Henry Cavil were wonderful plus was surprised to see Alex Petiffer I thought he wasn't acting anymore. Guy Ritchie always has done great films at least most of them. Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is one of the best war types I've seen, I hope many others appreciate it.

This was a very fun movie with satisfying action scenes. The action scenes can be over the top at times but it does not feel like a movie you need to take super seriously. I enjoyed every scene with the core five actors.

The movie does drag a bit in the middle of the movie. This is based on a true story so I get why it's important to see all the parts of the operation. However, there is a lot of dialogue and slow pacing in the middle. It focuses a lot on what I would consider the B plot.

By the end of the movie it ramps back up and you get a satisfying climax with all the parts coming together. Overall very fun laid back movie, especially if you are interested in history and WW2.

The movie is a beef cake sandwich crammed with testosterone and rippling biceps-- Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson have wonderfully comedic and sincere chemistry as they chew their way through Nazis.

Guy Ritchie's sensibilities are on full display-- sharp transitions, character introductions, banter worthy of Tarantino, and charm. Spiritually this film feels like a violent successor to The Man from UNCLE despite it being set decades prior. The plot is straight forward and allows for a talented cast to stretch their legs.

I certainly hope this movie leads to larger action roles for Ritchson who has been stellar to date.

The movie is fun for the most part, but not the strongest Ritchie film. The trailer is a great representation of the film - the cheekiness, costumes, violence, and Henry Cavill's twirly mustache. If you liked the trailer, you'll probably enjoy the film.

I do think the movie could've been a lot more but was bogged down by the "true story" aspect. There are a few scenes that felt very Tarantino-esque in its hyper violence or intensity, but likely couldn't be taken further because of the limitations of a true story. While not mad at the casting, they could've skipped on giving Alan Ritchson the crappy danish accent. And when Eiza Gonzalez's character's ethnicity is introduced, you'll probably raise an eyebrow considering she's a Mexican actress.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a true story set in World War II. The story was largely unknown to the public until 2016 when documents from that era were declassified.

The dramatized narrative does have its silly moments, as shown in the previews, but the story is nothing but. Had these brave men and women not completed the mission, there is a chance Hitler would have won the war.

If you wish to see arrogant Nazis get shot, blown up, tortured, stabbed, or otherwise maimed, then definitely go see this movie. It was most satisfying to see as many of them hurt as possible. Even knowing that the Germans lost the war, I was on the edge of my seat during the covert action, but also laughing out loud while they perform said action.

There are so many movies made about World War II that I was very pleasantly surprised to see one that I knew nothing about. I know this was intentional as the operation was classified. So many acts of bravery and heroism still continue to not see the light of day, and I cheered (along with the rest of the audience) at the conclusion.

It's very much an R rated film, but this is one that everyone should see. So much could have gone wrong throughout the entire war that life today as we know it would be so different. Always remember that the war didn't just last 6 years, only direct combat. This had been going on for decades, and the lessons learned afterwards must still be repeated.

"How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops." Damien Lewis (from subtitle of his book)

Having matured as a filmgoer in the 60's, I loved the derring-do, guns-for-hire adventures like Dirty Dozen and Professionals. Now Guy Ritchie has renewed the genre with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a semi-fictional story wherein a group of mavericks is hired by British WWII leaders, including Churchill (Rory Kinnear), to neutralize the Nazi machine that produces U boats menacing Brits in the North Atlantic.

Among the Brit officers is a young Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox), pre-James Bond-in fact, the lead maverick, Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), may have been Fleming's model for Bond. The enterprise cannot be acknowledged by the Brits if the team is caught, and the Nazis would execute them. This based-on-a-true story is heroic by any definition.

Ministry is an A movie for "adventure" and a B for badinage, making it a solid fit for summer escapism and a whiff of history. The subdued quips are Ritchie's renovation-fewer wise-guy asides and more unsubtle action. Henry Cavill nicely underplays the usually out-there leader such as Lee Marvin did. Much more bonhomie with Cavill.

Ritchie also updates the genre by referring to Casablanca more than once. Good company. What he doesn't do is ratchet up the suspense, as in say Guns of Navarone. In fact, each encounter with the Nazis is too easy for the gang to navigate. Ritchie is relaxed with the conflict.

Gus's cohorts are a mix of Dwayne Johnson and Steve McQueen types with a little Strother Martin on the side. Adding a sharpshooting femme fatale, Marjorie Stewart (Eiza Gonzalez), is a much-appreciated upgrade. She lends a sophisticated and deathly beauty, a danger for which the Nazis didn't quite account.

Ritchie owes Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds in its setup and tone, although his execution is uneven: sometimes irreverent, sometimes grim. But, hey, it's almost summer and we're relaxing with a movie that does not claim to be historically accurate or artistically high. It's plain fun.

Saw this movie last weekend. No complaints here. Acting was great and the movie moved at a great pace. Overall I thought the movie was very fun and couldn't believe it was actually a true story. Great Britain needed to do something desperate to get the United States to commit to WW2's European Theater in the worst way and found the guys needed to get the job done. We might be living in a very different world if they failed and Churchill was put out and the appeasement faction got their way. Thankfully, we don't have to live that alternate history because these guys rocked and did what they had to. Don't go see it if watching military men kill nazis bothers you or violence because there is a lot.

Saw this at an early access showing. It was not what I had hoped, but more or less what I expected. If you like movies based on Historical events, that seem to also show the connection between new film franchises, and old, this is a pretty good film for that.

You have Henry Cavill walking through the entire film, with zero sense of urgency. You have the poor man's Gal Gadot, who does nothing but act as eye candy and a distraction to both the on screen talent, and the audience. You have Alan Ritchson who more or less steals the entire film as the lunatic killing machine. Honestly everyone does a decent job but frankly you could have cast anyone in this movie and it would have turned out the same.

I like some things I have seen by Guy Ritchie, but this movie is a little less interesting because everything is so bland and safe. Visually, it's okay. It's not great. There were some good moments in the movie and some funny things that happen, but you can see where the moment lingers and the tension is not there at all. That's the thing. I did not feel one bit of tension for anyone at any time in this movie.

That's the real sad part about this film, as you don't care about anyone before, during or after things get rolling. There's no air of menace to any of the bad guys, there's no chemistry between any of the characters. You see some glimpses but it's one scripted scene after another and there really is no acting.

Why should I expect more? It's not like anyone is producing any really compelling films that make history interesting.

It's basically the same premise as Tarantino's movie - get a cast of outcasts and go and mow through hordes of nazis.

Where Tarantino's version had some nuance, and bad guys actually had some sort of personality, motivation, and charm, here it feels like a Call of Duty game, where NPCs are just standing there, waiting to be shot by the main character.

The only redeeming qualities are - it's apparently based on a true story, the cast is good, and it's a technically competent execution.

If you need a mindless action movie - you might enjoy it, but it's far from the best work of Guy Ritchie, and quite honestly - sad to see the bar has fallen so low for him.

This was a solid WWII film that just wants to have fun, and I have a place in my heart for films like that. Its great cast distracts from the weak characterization in the script. Standouts are Henry Cavill (of course), Eiza Gonzales and Alan Ritchson. It's a very plot driven movie, but the plot is interesting (especially considering it is loosely based on real events). If the script made us care more about the people, this would have been great movie. Instead everyone comes off as "movie characters;" I'm sure the actual people involved were far more interesting than that. In some ways, the movie highlights a fascinating mission from WWII while doing a disservice to the men involved.

Those script issues aside, the movie's direction and tone are very fun. There's a great musical sequence I very much enjoyed and I did find myself invested in the mission as the third act neared. Don't expect to be on the edge of your seat as this is less about suspense and all about style. But it was a fun time at the theater and I think it's worth seeing for that alone.

Side note: YMMV but save for a bloody moment or two, it's far less graphic than the R rating may lead you to believe.

Guy Ritchie pays homage to Quentin Tarantino with this film. He steals many trademark Tarantino details. The rough looking title cards. The Ennio Morricone western music. The amped-up characters and dialogue. The fictionalization of history. Ritchie even casts a member of the Inglorious Basterds, Til Schweiger. Tarantino is a maestro at dialogue, and along with it interesting characters. In TMOUW, over-the-top tact is applied to all aspects of this movie. Everyone is overly polite, staying composed and proper amidst the horrors of world war.

Despite being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, this movie does not rely on a bunch of action scenes to be successful. Instead, cartoonish characters propel the story with the undertone of danger. It is based on a real mission that took place in WWII. However, the main characters exude flamboyance that shows the film is more interested in having fun than going through any suffering. One would guess that such desensitization was an effort to make this film PG-13, but it is R rated.

This is another big budget release following the recent trend of English Super Spy movies, such as Kingsman, Man from UNCLE, Argylle, to name a few. I embraced the stylish first Kingsman movie, only to find the sequels to be misfires. Man from UNCLE was more interested in it's style over substance. Argylle (I'm told) totally missed the mark. "Ministry" fixed what was wrong with those other movies, delivering the goods and not taking itself too seriously. Which is too bad, because if this was toned down just a little bit, and included more realism, this could have been a serious thriller with more gravitas.

However, this was not the filmmaker's aim. These are super spies that have super human abilities, and never suffer a scratch as they take on overwhelming odds. The filmmakers aim was unambiguous, having fun at the movies. And I did. I had a smile on my face from the very beginning once it was made clear that this was pulp fiction. Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson's characters are introduced as portraying simple tourists on a boat. Of course, the audience knows from their ridiculously buff bodies that they are ready to rumble.

Then comes the setup, as given by Winston Churchill. The actor chosen for the role played Churchill like a mob boss, an interesting twist on this fictionalized WWII universe. We are also introduced to author Ian Fleming, with a nod to Cavill's character being Fleming's inspiration for James Bond. However, other than the extreme politeness all characters possess, there is little else to Cavill that resembles the James Bond persona. In general, there is little subtext to the characters and their motivation. That on-the-nose tone for me energized the story. Almost every actor cast exudes a strong personality, almost cartoon-like. So it is apropos that the key moments on this film are portrayed in a cartoon-ish way. The action scenes are slickly choreographed, all the while with the heroes engaging in light banter, resembling the classic Looney Tunes overly polite Goofy Gophers.

Mention must be made for Eiza Gonzalez, who plays a femme fatale during the era when such characters were lynchpins of underground organizations. Gonzalez commands the screen with charismatic persona. Til Schweiger likewise is played in broad strokes as the despicable Nazi bad guy. He needs to say little, since his very presence communicates his evil intentions.

The third act plays out on a single night, as an intricate plot relies on the timing and placement of key characters. When things go afoul, you are uncertain and how things will play out, despite the fact our main characters are invincible.

It is obvious that the intention was for "Ministry" to be a major tentpole film, with two big name action stars, a big name action director, and a decent budget. Critics were split on the fact the movie was tackling such an interesting subject based on a real incident, that should maybe not have taken the cartoonish tone. But that's not this movie. Maybe another filmmaker will take the same incident and turn into a realistic thriller. But Guy Ritchie wanted to entertain audiences instead, and I was.

I went to this based on the casting alone. I knew it was going to be good, but I did not know it was going to be fantastic! The story, knowing it was based on true events, is awesome and they did a marvelous job telling it. I love Guy Ritchie movies and his style of directing. Even the music selected was perfect. During one pivotal scene, my friend turned to me and said, "This music is intense!" I will not give any spoilers away because that is no fun. I do very much recommend this movie. I will be going to it again and will have friends over to watch it as well as soon as it is available for streaming.

It sucks that this is the direction in which this true story is told. This is essentially an action comedy with no hints of drama during a time of war. Everything about this film is very generic, from the way the plot is laid out to the way the characters are introduced.

This film felt like a parody of what actually happened during this mission. At no point in the film was there any tension or the feeling that there were high-stakes. All of the characters seemed indestructible as they fought and shot their way to the ending of the film. The characters are not developed beyond the names and skill sets they were given in their two second intros. There wasn't any chemistry between any of the characters. There isn't much dialogue or exposition. There are some decent action sequences in this film but that's not enough to carry the story in any meaningful way. This film felt like a story written from the imagination of a child playing with their military action figures.

Let me start with the positives.

Like most Guy Ritchie films, the ensemble has great chemistry. Henry Cavill doesn't disappoint, he keeps the pace going and interactions between everyone fun to watch. Alan Ritchson does great as a force of nature, dude is built like a tank. Babs Olusanmokun is slick, he has a very smooth demeanor to his performance. Lastly, Eiza Gonzalez is absolutely beautiful, however her performance was hit or miss for me. But she hit more than she missed.

Now, the negatives.

The movie doesn't feel like it was even made by Guy Ritchie. Instead it feels like someone else were trying to make a "Guy Ritchie" film.

I would watch it again, but it is not in my recommendation list if I were to convince someone to get into Guy Ritchie films.

I'll admit I walked into this not expecting much. The screening was surprisingly good and actually does what action movies do-deliver action. I know the German U boats were obliterating anything in the oceans that aided their enemies but I didn't know it was to the extreme that Winston Churchill would do something about it to keep England from starving.

The cast was terrific led by Henry Cavill and Allan Huston deserves to be above the posters of movies he's in. Hes got the makings of an action hero and is hilarious to watch here. TIL Shweiger is always terrific and here he made a formidable bad guy.

Now before people start tripping about what is and what isn't true, let me just say this is a movie and even the director mentioned going overboard on the action. This isn't a documentary but an entertaining, fast paced action movie about a real event in history.