By John Dreibelbis

Guy Ritchie and Jerry Bruckheimer lean into their strengths with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. We mostly know Ritchie for action-comedy films like Snatch (2000) or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). However, Ritchie uses The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare to create a historical narrative that is engaging, funny, and visually stunning. The film’s production design, acting, and direction make this film a weekend thrill. It’s a film about the 1940s that feels like it was made in the 1960s, being released to our screens in 2024. Ritchie and Bruckheimer give you a lot of exciting things to parse through. 

The film is set in the year 1942: a tumultuous time for obvious reasons. German U-boats are sinking American merchant ships at will. Britain is running out of gin. And Japan is being kind of a brat. British prime minister Winston Churchill eventually has enough of the foolishness and commissions a crew of rogues and mavericks to restore some order. The formation of these commandos follows the Dunkirk evacuation (another piece of World War II history you undoubtedly know about from another movie called…Dunkirk (2017)). History lesson aside, Churchill simply wants a “hunter class” of troops that will strike a “reign of terror” on German-occupied coasts. Ritchie takes all these details to fictionalize a take on Operation Postmaster, the codename for the mission Churchill commissions.

It's in this commissioned crew of misfits that the movie showcases one of its greatest strengths: its characters. While none of the characters get much development outside of exposition, their colorful personalities and their synergy with each other create a level of charm not typical of spy action films. The supporting cast outside of March-Phillpps and his crew, including Babs Olusanmokun and Eiza Gonzalez as the team's inside men on Fernando Po and Til Schweigher as the Nazi villain, add a lot to the film through their dedicated performances and soulful personalities. In addition to the novel charm these characters bring, the way they play off of each other is surprisingly natural and makes for some genuinely funny moments.

Beyond the story and the acting, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare boasts some incredible production value, both in front of the camera and behind it. Everything from the sets to the costumes to the cinematography to the editing is designed to echo the World War II movies of the 60s and 70s, and that combined with the violence on display gives the movie an aesthetic reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, minus the non-linear timeline. In terms of action, the person-to-person combat in this film echoes that of the Rambo series (with one character even wielding a bow and arrow as a retroactive homage to the iconic character), while the larger, more complex set pieces feel more reminiscent of 90s action films such as Under Siege (1992), The Rock (1996), and Con Air (1997). 

Overall, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an immensely entertaining look at how imitating older filmmaking techniques creates a sense of uniqueness and peculiarity in today's world of entertainment. These nostalgic qualities are brought to a head by Chris Benstead’s score, which brilliantly echoes the style of iconic spaghetti western composers like Ennio Morricone and Luis Bacalov. By recreating the look, feel, and sound of films from the most experimental era of Hollywood, Guy Ritchie and company have crafted a delightful filmmaking experiment that stands out in a world of mediocre, overproduced blockbusters and that will no doubt be enjoyed as a cult classic in the near future.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is currently available on most major platforms.