Guy Ritchie is certainly known for making violent, action-filled, crime movies with just the right amount of comedy that I’ll keep you entertained. His first foray into war films is nothing different, but I have to admit it’s probably his best film. Yes, I’m a Guy Richie fan… I have been ever since Long, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. But making a good war movie is not an easy task and so many things can go wrong when making a war film with Guy Ritchie’s style of filmmaking. One way to make it successful is to have the right story. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the kind of story taylor-made for somebody like Guy Ritchie. The movie tells the story of the first Special Forces group created by Winston Churchill whose sole job was to “wreck havoc” on the Nazis Behind enemy lines. It was a group created by Ian Fleming who would later go on to create the character of James Bond. This movie is not Inglorious Bastards. This is a true story about the first mission to sabotage the supply ship for German U-boats in the Atlantic. The main character of Major Gus-March, played by Henry Cavill is the basis for the character of James Bond…. He definitely fits the bill of an antihero, but became one of the most decorated soldiers during World War II. Is this movie worth seeing, absolutely! Guy Richie makes entertaining movies and has a knack of making criminals seem endearing, but like I said, this is his best film because it is based on a true story and even though technically, the man who would inspire James Bond is probably a criminal, he’s the right kind of criminal that becomes the war hero one would need to win a war. That’s the overall theme of this film.
Here’s what works and what makes this film worth seen. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it is the violence… It’s not over the Top, it is a bit gory, but it fits perfectly within the story that we constantly root for the heroes as they are mercifully killing Nazis. I can understand the argument that it may be too violent, but honestly, it works within the framework of the story especially when they’re breaking one of their companions out of a German prison. this movie will have a lot of comparisons to Inglorious Bastards and I like Tarantino’s War epic despite it being very untrue and over the top because he simply just wants to entertain. What guy Richie does in this film is not only entertained but tell a very important story to World War II. The fact that we get to meet a young Ian Fleming as he builds the basis for the greatest spy in fiction is another feather in Guy Richie’s cap! The performances are fantastic. Henry Cavill may never get to play James bond, but he certainly gets to play the real life character who inspired James blunt and he’s brilliant. If you’re a fan of Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher then you will love him as the Swede in this movie. Sure, there’s a few liberties taken with the overall story, it’s Hollywood…. I mean, not even the Dirty Dozen was completely accurate, but everything seems to work in this film and you won’t get bored. You know me and my reviews that I always talk about pacing and I’m always talking about how films are saved through editing. Believe it or not I have no complaints on either of those things!
Now I won’t say it’s a perfect film, very few films rarely are! I would say that everybody is perfectly cast except for one roll and it’s a very hard roll to find the perfect actor to play. That of Winston Churchill! It’s hard to find any actor after Gary Oldman won an Oscar for playing Winston Churchill who can do the character Justice. Unfortunately Rory Kinnear just doesn’t deliver as Winston Churchill. He is the weak link of the film. The bright side is most of the seams are with the soldiers. But despite one bad performance and the miscasting of an important role, the film still highly entertains and all of the other performances outweigh the one bad performance. I certainly think this has been one of the best and entertaining horror movies that we’ve seen in a long time. It’s not meant to be Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now. It’s like a modern retelling of The Dirty Dozen with a great cast and just the right amount of action and violence. I have to say it, Guy Richie is the perfect director to tell this story. I honestly didn’t think he could make a good war movie and I’m very glad that I was wrong. He knocks it out of the park with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and sets in a perfectly for sequels because now that we have been introduced to these real life heroes, who doesn’t want to see more of their adventures on the big screen. Henry Cavill would make a great James bond, but he’s perfect playing the guy who inspired James Bond. As a veteran and a fan of war movies as someone who knows the real story that inspired James Bond, maybe I’m not being overly critical, but I do give this film a nine because it’s just fun and entertaining, and still manages to give us the right amount of inspiration that a good hero story is supposed to do. So what are you waiting for, go buy your ticket today! You will not be disappointed seeing this movie on the big screen!
