The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Last weekend, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the newest film from Guy Ritchie was released in theaters. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare follows a group of 5 men as they are recruited by the British government to sink a German U-boat supply ship. Guy Ritchie has put out some solid movies lately (The Covenant, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre) and the trailer caught my attention so I was interested to see how it would turn out. 

I found this movie to be a lot of fun. Guy Ritchie knows how to make solid action movies with just the right tone. The main draw of this movie is the novelty of watching Nazis getting shot in the face and this movie definitely delivers on that. There are several fun action sequences throughout the movie where we get to watch the main character effortlessly shoot down Nazis with various weapons like guns, bows, axes, and explosives. I also quite enjoyed the World War II setting and thought it was interesting how this was all based on a true story. I found the tone to be perfect in this movie. The movie doesn't try to be a super dark and serious war movie but instead opts for a lighter tone with more of a lax feel which I think makes the movie much more fun. All of the characters we see in the film are also a lot of fun with each having their own special skill and fun personality. I found Henry Cavil to be the standout in this film as he plays a very different character than the other films he's been in recently. The movie also gives each character a little moment to shine and show off their skills with even the two side characters on the island getting some moments to shine. 

While the movie is a lot of fun, there are some issues with it. When the movie is about shooting Nazis and blowing things up, it is a lot of fun. But when that novelty is not there, the movie goes down a bit. The middle act of this film feels quite slow as there isn't a lot of action going and we are left with watching the characters prep for the mission. Once they reach the island, the film kicks into high gear and makes up a bit for the slowness. The movie also lacks quite a bit of substance, it doesn't have much in terms of character arcs or a complex plot. The film is centered around watching Nazis get shot in the face and that is what it achieves. 

Overall, this was a fun movie with entertaining characters and action sequences. While it doesn't have much in terms of plot or character development, if you are there to watch Nazis get shot in the face, you won't be disappointed. 

Score: 7/10 Grade: B Recommendation: Worth checking out