Guy Ritchie’s latest film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, comes out this week, and critics are already raving about Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson leading this swaggering World War II adventure.
Described as a back-door James Bond audition by way of Inglourious Basterds, the Ritchie film appears to be at his best when he’s letting his leads cut loose and banter with their comrades before, during, and after their Nazi-killing missions. While Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is still bested by Tarantino’s crackling World War II film, it’s not for lack of trying.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
Peter Debruge, Variety:
While hardly shy on attitude, Ministry finds the stylistically aggressive director in a tamer, slightly more traditional mode, featuring relatively conservative repartee (including loads of clunky exposition) and fairly straightforward set-pieces. As a whole, the movie hews to the standard men-on-a-mission formula, joining classics such as The Guns of Navarone and The Dirty Dozen in assembling a pack of highly skilled — if slightly disreputable — pros to attempt the impossible.
Kristy Puchko, Mashable:
Make no mistake. Cavill is a blast here. Freed from the demanded stiffness of heroes like the DCEU’s Superman and The Witcher‘s Geralt, he clearly relishes the devil-may-care attitude of the ungentlemanly spy, exuding a mischievous allure. Ritchson, who’ve played his fair share of steely toughs in Fast X and Reacher, likewise lets loose, boasting an effervescence that’s unexpected considering his mountainous frame. Indeed, he’s even burlier than the former superhero star. The sheer beefiness of the pair make the well-fit Golding and Tiffin seem like Victorian wastrels by comparison. All together, they have a kinetic energy that’s intoxicating, and fuels scenes of strategizing, spying, and onslaught alike.
David Ehrlich, IndieWire:
Aside from the fact that some of its characters are historical figures, and that World War II is a thing that actually happened, Ritchie’s film plays so fast and loose with the facts that it makes Inglourious Basterds feel like a Ken Burns documentary by comparison. It may not outdo Tarantino’s masterpiece in any other department, but that certainly isn’t for lack of trying. From the opening notes of Christopher Benstead’s jangly, Jacques Loussier-inspired score, it’s clear that Ritchie is gunning for that same kind of grindhouse-adjacent pastiche, and The Ministry is at its best when it embraces the cigar-chomping ultra-violence that “Basterds” elevated into high art.
Pete Hammond, Deadline:
This is miles above junk like The Expendables, which Lionsgate beat to death. For true inspiration, if you are a fan of this kind of 1960s-style WWII movie it is impossible not to think of Robert Aldrich’s seminal 1967 The Dirty Dozen, in which Lee Marvin led a similar unkempt team. There aren’t a dozen this time by my count, and this flick is a lot talkier, but the spirit is there no doubt.
Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com:
Unlike Alex Garland’s Civil War, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is commendably upfront about its politics. That is, it’s extremely anti-Nazi. No prevarication here. Germans exist in this film pretty much only to be shot (with bullets and arrows) or stabbed (multiple times and in the most sensitive-to-stabbing corporeal locations) to death. Sometimes before they die, they deliver smug Nazi speeches, which gives their subsequent horrible painful deaths an added thrill.
William Bibbiani, The Wrap:
It’s a larger than life World War II thriller in the Guy Ritchie house style, and he strikes a fine, fun balance between the threat that the Nazis posed and the thrill of watching hunky heroes slaughter them at great length, then chuckle and smoke cigarettes and call each other “old boy” about 50 million times. Cavill, rocking a beautifully curly mustache, is clearly enjoying himself. “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson seems born to murder bad guys (on camera). The whole cast is having a wonderful time. It’s a hangout movie about taking down white supremacists, en masse and with violent glee. It’s hard not to get swept up in this film’s simple pleasures.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare storms into theaters on April 19.