The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

In this typical Guy Ritchie film, Gus Phillips (Henry Cavill) and his crew are tasked with sinking a German submarine. This mission comes from none other than the British Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear). The message is clear: if this mission fails, Gus and his crew will end up in prison, and Churchill will lose his position as Prime Minister. The stakes are high, and the adrenaline is higher.

On this daunting task, Gus is supported by his crew of "killing machine" Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), and Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). His team is also aided by Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) and Richard Heron (Babs Olusanmokun).

If you are someone who has an issue with the humorous portrayal of war and its consequences, I would strongly recommend avoiding this film. Much like Jojo Rabbit, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare approaches topics like death with very dark humor and has no qualms with showing extreme jokes and crude scenes. 

Another well-known media this film can be likened to is Call of Duty. Much of this film follows characters running around and killing Nazis in humorously creative ways. Since this is often paired with enjoyable combat scenes, it is generally quite fun to watch. However, after a while, the formula of “Walk In, Shoot, Keep Walking, Keep Shooting” gets repetitive and draining. As a result, the film often lacks intensity and suspense at many moments.  The film is also particularly slow in the middle and generally about 20 to 30 minutes too long. Hours later, there are only a handful of standout scenes I can recall. 

This issue of memorability extends to the writing, as the storylines are largely passable but unexciting. For instance, there is a subplot where Marjorie tries to obtain information from high-ranking Nazi Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger) by seducing him. The storyline is fun enough, but as a German, I must say it’s disappointing to see Hollywood still giving roles to Schweiger when there are so many German actors who would be better suited to the roles he is cast for. As a result, the acting doesn’t elevate this subplot to be any more than decently entertaining. 

This is an issue with the entire film, as the only characters with any depth are Gus, Marjorie, and Anders. No other actor has any material to work with. Thankfully, Cavill, González, and Ritchson all deliver on an acting standpoint, with Ritchson in particular shining during his consistently entertaining action scenes. 

Overall, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a light, enjoyable time. However, its story has all the narrative depth of a Call of Duty mission and isn’t particularly thrilling. Though it has solid technical aspects, these aforementioned traits combined with an overly long runtime results in a film that is just average. 

6.5/10