Mikes Film Talk

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has it all. Guy Ritchie, gangsters (In the guise of Nazis.) and World War Two. It is based on the book of the same name by Damien Lewis (And before you ask. No, not the actor from Band of Brothers. The actor spells his name with an ‘a’.)

The only drawback, if it can be counted; as one, is the dodgy timing of it all. SAS Rogue Heroes (Rogue Heroes outside of the UK.) graced us with another “based on a true story” tag in 2022. The birth of another “black ops” oriented task force focusing on the Who Dares Wins SAS. *Side note: Cracking show this. Despite not having any big names to carry it, the show was remarkable, witty, heart breaking and fun. Basically a lot like the big screen Ritchie film.

Strange Bedfellows

The late Sir Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear gives us a brilliant interpretation of the great man.) decides that rules are made to be broken. At the setting of this tale, the British are the only real power fighting back the Axis attempt at world domination. Not mentioned in the film, but set out in the book, a school was setup to teach the stiff upper lip crowd how to fight dirty.

Unlike the small screen telling of the SAS and its start, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is witty, sometimes overblown, darkly comic and incredibly violent. It uses a splendid mix of time appropriate and modern music to adorn the story, like the SAS show.

This is not a copy

While this ore has been mined before, Ritchie puts his own spin on this over the top recreation of Operation Postmaster and it is a good fit. Totally different from the SAS tales on Sky. This is not a copy of the book’s narrative. A major plot point was changed.

You may want to hide your eyes

This is violent, full of gore and Cavill as Gus March-Phillips tends to be a bit unsettling. His unconcealed mirth while eliminating the “gangsters” of this piece is, for lack of a better word, disturbing. The entire team are enjoying themselves in the caper to scuttle the German U-boats (submarines). Only Alan Ritchson as Anders Lassen comes close to Cavill’s gleeful performance.

Floor?

Ritchie takes certain liberties with the film. He was not alone in this, there are no less than four scribes listed. Five if one counts the source book. Perhaps the biggest departure from the truth is that of Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González). The only female taking part in the operation is portrayed as a sort of WWII Annie Oakley. In reality, the real Stewart was a lift (elevator) operator. She apparently had very little to do with the task at hand. She certainly did not go into the field for this operation.

It is a Guy Ritchie film

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a British film through and through. Of course it is. It is a Guy Ritchie film after all. This is Ritchie on form from the very first frame. Like all his films, excluding RocknRolla; a film that was nigh on perfect, this has a number of things that scream Guy Ritchie. No one in the cast performed in a laissez faire fashion:

The film has been a massive hit with audience members. Rotten Tomatoes give the film a paltry 69% while viewers rated it a whopping 93%. I happen to agree with the audience on this one.

For spectacle alone this one rates a full 5 stars. The cast is spot on and the behind the scenes moments, where Churchill fights his corner, are perfect. Check out the trailer below and either catch it at the cinema or stream it online. Conversely, if this is not your cup of tea, give it a miss. It is up to you.

trailer