The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare 4K UHD Review
Guy Ritchie continues to show his versatility with “The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare.”
Based on the real life Operation Postmaster and the novel “Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story Of The Special Forces Desperadoes Of WWII,” “2024’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is an exaggerated action-war film about the WWII mission. The Story: Needing a victory against the Nazis, United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Brigadier Colin Gubbins concoct a secret mission known as Operation Postmaster- an Italian supply ship sabotage mission on the island of Fernando Po. 2 Special Operations Executive agents (Marjorie and Richard) pose as spies on the ground while another team (comprised of Gus, Anders, Graham, and Freddy) travel by sea posing as fisherman with the goal of destroying Italian ships.
Written by Guy Ritchie, Paul Tamsay, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel and directed by Ritchie, ‘Ministry’ is a war mission film in the vein of “Guns Of Navarone,” “The Dirty Dozen,” and more recently “Inglourious Basterds.” Tonally, it feels like two different movies. The first half is more of a comedic action-war film with Hard-R violence. The second half is a much more serious and tense spy movie with the mission in peril. For some, the shift in tone may be puzzling, but it still manages to work. No one should go into this expecting a historically accurate biodrama. It’s very much a crowd-pleasing action-spy-war film that offers up laughs, a quality cast of characters, and intense and thrilling action with Nazis getting thrashed. Yes, it does pay tribute to the heroes of this mission, but it’s done in a decidedly Guy Ritchie esque fashion.
Speaking of Guy Ritchie (who has really been cranking out movies and now TV lately), the director continues to prove that he’s much more than the guy behind “Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.” It’s refreshing to see the director take risks and dive into other genres. It is a shame this movie was a bomb at the box office though. Had it been properly marketed, this might have found more of an audience. Hopefully, it will find new life on streaming.
‘Ministry’ makes one thing very clear- Henry Cavill needs to be in more Guy Ritchie movies. Much like in Ritchie’s “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” Cavill is at his best here as Gus March-Phillips. He’s a quipping gentleman badass who is both funny and deadly. For whatever reason, Ritchie really knows how to utilize the actor. Alan Ritchson (who is seemingly in everything these days) shines as the muscle bound Anders. Eliza González gives arguably the strongest performance of her career as the seductive spy Marjorie. She’s definitely an actress to watch for in the future. Babs Olusanmokun (of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” fame) also shines as the spy Richard.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? In a word, pristine.
Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? The loud action is well served with this active Atmos track.
Extras:
* Blu-ray copy
* Digital copy
* Theatrical trailer
* “The Ministry Of Filmmaking”- A 24 minute behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews, set footage, film clips, and discussions about the story, the production design, costumes, and more.
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