Movie Review – The ministry of ungentlemanly warfare

4/5 stars for this movie from me. I have liked this movie. I would not say that this movie doesn’t have its faults but this is like one of those cult movies, that either you like them or you can’t bear watching them. I preferred watching it. Now, this movie is sprinkled with British comedy and their mannerism, which some people hate outright. For me, there were 3 good reasons to like this movie, even before I watched it.

1. It was a WW2 movie – I am fascinated with that pre-computer era where the enemy was right in front of you. I have a vast collection of movies (I will share a few favorite ones at the end of the article) that I have enjoyed from WW2 and some of them were claimed to be based on true stories, including this one.
2. Henry Cavill plays Gus March-Phillips and Alan Ritchson plays Anders Lassen. For the uninitiated, Henry Cavill was the Superman in the DC universe (soon to be a Cavillworine in Marvel, fingers crossed). Alan Ritchson was Reacher from the The Reacher series on prime. Both of them share a very strong screen presence. They both are very active physically. Who would want to miss an action movie where both of them are involved?
3. Guy Richie – he is a sort of director who takes you on a ride. It starts slow, then the reveal of your characters, then the objective of the character and the finale. I love that sort of storytelling. A few of his movies that have left a mark on me are – the man from U.N.C.L.E and Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. Brilliantly contrasting story era yet both are so engaging.

Considering the above reasons, I had no doubt that “the ministry of ungentlemanly warfare” would be my kind of movie and I was not totally disappointed with it.

Plot review

The plot revolves around how to defeat the German U-boats. They were sinking everything that was coming toward Great Britain (GB). GB was starving as the ships laden with food were sinking in the Atlantic Ocean. (by the way, those ships had Indian food on them and Churchill was starving India to fuel his war against Germany). America wanted to join arms with GB to fight the war but even they were not able to send men across the ocean due to the U-boats. They ruled the waters of the Atlantic. GB was the last country in Europe that had not yet bowed to the German war. Despite they were being on the losing side, GB was defiant. They needed some way to defeat the U-boat. Nazis’ U-boats were getting their supplies and repairs on an island called Fernando po., predominately from a ship. Gb assembles a team to disrupt this supply and repairs operation.

Now for a movie, this is a fine plot but think about the real men who might have decided to join on this mission without any assurance of coming back, that is the grit of men that always attracts me towards these sorts of movies.

Rating (from 1 to 5):

3/5

Acting review

This movie requires a set of acting skills, killing skills, and showcasing chaos. The actors did a fine job at it. Among all, I think actor Eiza González playing Marjorie Stewart, did a fantastic job at it. While the opportunity to have a more exciting finale was cut short when her character faced Heinrich Luhr. This could have been a really interesting encounter.

Rating (from 1 to 5):

3.5/5

Music review

This was a plus point from my point of view. There were a few silent scenes and scenes with music in the background. But mostly I have noticed the music was not overpowering the acting or storytelling. Sometimes it is just a spine-tingling hi-hat of the drum set or sometimes just a base guitar. Everything aiding to the visuals.

Rating (from 1 to 5):

4/5

Points that didn’t click –

1. To me, it looked like a legitimate thing for a country at war to do anything that is required to defeat the enemy. Considering this, sending a few men for a covert mission looks to be a fair move so I don’t get why these men were referred to as “ungentlemanly”?
2. What would have made the movie even more interesting if it had a strong negative character – a villain? Someone like Col. Hans Landa from “Inglourious Basterds” played by Christoph Waltz. It did have actor Til Schweiger playing Heinrich Luhr’s character but beyond a few shots we don’t get to see the menace of the villain. Here, I feel there could have been a few twists to the story.
3. There was a part of their travel when these men decided to travel to the island from a long route so they don’t get detected but in the immediately next scene we are told that they don’t have much time so they again go back to their original shorter route – they could have stayed on it from the beginning, right?

Now if you find yourself enticed by this review, please go ahead, lock your doors, and watch this movie uninterrupted. You might enjoy it too. Don’t forget to drop a comment if you like it or if you don’t.

Other Guy Richie’s Films –

1. The man from U.N.C.L.E
2. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
3. Sherlock Holmes
4. Wrath of man

WW2 Films- That I Enjoyed A Lot –

1. The imitation game
2. Valkyrie
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. Schindler’s list
5. Saving Private Ryan
6. Enemy at the gates
7. Guns of Navarone
8. The Man Who Never Was

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