Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie have re-teamed for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, nearly a decade after collabing on the 2015 spy flick The Man from U.N.C.L.E. This time, the story that the actor and director are telling is based on the real events of Winston Churchill’s World War II special ops mission Operation Postmaster. The book-to-screen adaptation hits theaters on Friday, April 19, and critics are having mixed feelings about the action comedy.
First reactions to the film were mostly positive, though critics found a few bones to pick. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Mike Reyes says Guy Ritchie definitely leans more into the entertainment aspect of it all, even at the expense of historical accuracy (though he doesn’t dilute the importance of that, either). Reyes gives the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “fast, fierce, fascist-fighting fun.” He writes:
The cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare lacks any weak links in the chain. The light tone of good old fashioned Nazi killing stays firmly in place throughout the journey, and it’s bloody business; even the squeamish might be able to bear it a bit better thanks to the absolute ball everyone acting in this movie is having. To be that entertaining and not betray the gravity of the actual historical events is a feat that’s always commendable.
Matt Donato of IGN agrees, and while the critic admits there are some missteps, it’s unmistakably a Guy Ritchie film that’s overall plucky, punchy, and quite entertaining. Donato gives the movie a “Good” 7 out of 10, saying:
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a solid Guy Ritchie take on World War II that tells an incredible, sort-of-true story as only this specific British filmmaker can. Henry Cavill leads his band of merry misbehavers to war against any Nazi in eyesight, blending spy game thrills with safeties-off action sequences. The overall pacing stumbles slightly between Gus’ antics and supporting character focus shifts, and storytelling can be reductively familiar at times, but neither torpedoes that production. It’s fine that Ministry exists almost entirely to dance on Nazi graves — more movies should. You typically know what you’re getting from a Ritchie movie, and that’s never a problem with this ungentlemanly delight. Whenever momentum dips, Alan Ritchson shows up and aggressively murders a Nazi — you’ll be just fine.
Kristy Puchko of Mashable says the movie is bursting with “sensational slaughter scenes, chaotic charisma, and charged suspense,” however Guy Ritchie struggles with tone throughout the 2-hour runtime, and despite a high body count, the conservative amount of bloodshed makes The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare feel ultimately tame in comparison to Inglourious Basterds. Puchko writes:
Cast aside is the standard stern drama or rugged realism that's standard for ‘historical’ war films. In its place is a giddy celebration of violent action sequences, macho determination, and flourishes of pop-flavored sex appeal. Even the cheeky title feels so in the vein of Ritchie's irreverently raucous yet deeply English early action-comedies, that it plays like a bit of a self-aware gag on its own. Like who else would direct a movie called The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare?
Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com gives the movie 2 out of 4 stars, saying that anyone who wants to enjoy this movie should throw what they know of World War II history out of the window. While there's some to be derives from the action and killings, there’s not as much banter as the critic would have liked. In Kenny’s words:
While the action and suspense set pieces are executed with typical Ritchie bravura, the movie falls flat a lot of the time in between. Despite its four credited screenwriters, there’s not much verbal crackle at play—this is a largely British production in which its characters signal their Britishness by calling things ‘bloody this’ and ‘bloody that’ mostly. And the historical oddities do continue to grate even after you’ve resolved to turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.
Nick Schager of the Daily Beast is also left wanting after watching The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, calling the film a “World War Snooze.” Guy Ritchie provides neither scenarios that would make us care about the movie’s plot of characters nor the boisterous banter that would keep audiences interested. The critic writes:
With little interest in imaginatively juicing his true-events tale, Ritchie resorts to staging a nighttime finale in the murky dark and with lots of ho-hum fireballs. Lacking any sense of humor or peril, it’s just a slog headed toward a preordained happily-ever-after in which March-Phillipps saves the day by pulling off an even riskier feat than the one he was assigned, and Churchill rewards his spies with a culinary feast. As befitting such a leaden undertaking, Churchill says The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s title at film’s conclusion. The problem, however, is that the director’s latest isn’t ungentlemanly enough—or, for that matter, as assured, colorful, and charismatic as he and everyone else involved thinks it is.
The critics seem mixed on Guy Ritchie’s latest effort, and while many of them find the historical action comedy entertaining enough for its Nazi slaughter, many were also underwhelmed by the dialogue and tonal waffling. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare holds a 72% from 51 critics on Rotten Tomatoes, so we’ll have to see what audiences say after they have the chance to see it in theaters.
The film starring Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson opens in theaters on Friday, April 19, and you can get a jump on your next trip to the movies as well by checking out our 2024 movie release calendar.
