Based on declassified papers, Damian Lewis book ‘Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII’ has been adapted into The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’. It’s easy to see it as a kind of British companion piece to Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards notably the line that Brad Pitt’s Aldo Raine utters, ‘We’re going to be doing one thing and one thing only …killing Nazis!’
Starring Henry Cavill as Gus March Phillips whose anti-authoritarian ethos is clear having been locked up in military prison and is now released solely to spear head a covert unit on a precarious secret mission ordered by Churchill himself. Their mission? To destroy a whole load of U-boats in a West African port that are preventing supplies getting to the UK and enabling the US free passage across the Atlantic. Yes, this is a men on a mission movie and killing Nazis is part of the party atmosphere to the film as the crack unit wander through a Nazi camp killing Nazis left, right and centre that it’s like playing Call of Duty on Easy mode. That first melee is to rescue a much needed unit member as part of what was named Operation Postmaster
This is rip roaring stuff with Cavill leading a cast that includes Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer and Henry Golding on his team and the operations governmental bodies including a young Ian Fleming who took Marsh- Phillips as an early role model for James Bond. This is Guy Ritchie’s second war film after 2023 ‘s under rated ‘The Covenant’ and like that film this has been consigned to streaming outside of its US theatrical release.
Like so many of Richie’s best films there’s a load of infectious energy about the action and the cast look like they’re having a great time shooting, stabbing along with extreme bow and arrow skills and blowing things up. With its Boys own action adventure ethic the script is Tarantino-lite but the action is fun and is ideal viewing on a Sunday afternoon after a particularly boozy lunch.
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Here’s The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare trailer….
