The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

Fun War Adventure - The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare review by GI

A Boys Own Second World War crowd pleaser from Director Guy Ritchie who can never seem to rise quite to the occasion of his early films. This is all played for comic book styling and is very reminiscent of Inglourious Basterds (2009) but without that films panache. This is a fictionalised telling of a commando type mission to destroy German U boats and their supply ships in an African port. It's apparently based on a book by Damien Lewis and is about a real Operation codenamed Postmaster. The characters are all based on real people but the film goes for a fun, romp style that is all gung-ho, exaggerated and perhaps a little silly. Henry Cavill leads the ragtag team of ill disciplined soldiers on the mission who all treat war as a big game and relish in the killing of Nazis which Alan Ritchson as his No. 2 does most of. Henry Golding, Cary Elwes and Eiza González co star and Freddy Fox plays Ian Fleming, it being the case that Cavill's character was an inspiration for James Bond. Like much of Ritchie's output in recent times this has an infectiously entertaining veneer but lacks the zing that is promised. The witty banter is just not quite witty enough. It's good fun and there's a lot of explosions and shooting but it's fairly forgettable.