After a delay in obtaining a rental certificate, Guy Ritchie’s military adventure action movie “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” was released simultaneously in domestic cinemas and on the online platform “Kinopoisk.” Told by Yulia Shagelman.
The new film from one of the most beloved Russian directors was supposed to be released on April 25, but at that time the Ministry of Culture refused the film a rental certificate, presumably to avoid competition with domestic films during the long May holidays—a tactic tested back in the days when big-budget Western projects with stars were not a rarity in our cinemas. Now “Kinopoisk” is testing a hybrid model on the film, offering viewers the opportunity to choose how to watch it, either in theaters or at home on the couch. The problem, perhaps, is that “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Affairs” is a spectacle that is entertaining, but largely disposable.
Despite the fact that it looks like a typical Ritchie story, now set against the backdrop of World War II, the caption about real events at the beginning of the film is not a lie. The screenplay is based on the documentary book by British war correspondent Damien Lewis, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Shadow Operations,” which tells the story of a secret special service created by Churchill in 1942—the Special Operations Executive (SOE), which carried out daring and risky operations behind enemy lines. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer acquired the rights to adapt it back in 2015, and since then the screenplay has been rewritten several times, so now it is credited to four people, including the director himself. As a result of serious research, the film only retains the names of the main characters plus a few episodic appearances by Churchill (Rory Kinnear) and naval intelligence officer Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox), the future creator of James Bond.
Agent 007 Fleming, as is known, borrowed characteristics from several of his fellow officers, but the authors of “The Ministry…” adhere to the version that the main prototype was Major Gus March-Phillips, commander of one of the SOE flying squads. He is portrayed by Henry Cavill with fluffy mustaches and a beard, whom Ritchie gives the opportunity to embody a quasi-Bond on screen for the second time after “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” (2015), perhaps as a consolation for not passing the Bond auditions in the past. However, the new hero lacks any hint of elegance and sophistication—he is an adrenaline junkie who enjoys cutting coats off others’ shoulders (an SS uniform particularly excites him), exploding things, and shooting. Essentially, war is nothing more than a fun adventure for him, allowing him to indulge in all these tendencies without legal consequences.
The task that March-Phillips receives from the head of the newly formed SOE, simply called M (Cary Elwes), fits him perfectly. He must go to the Spanish outpost in Fernando Po in Africa, where a Nazi ship carrying weapons and fuel for submarines, lurking in the Atlantic and attacking American ships, is anchored, and destroy it. The operation is given the unassuming name “Postmaster,” and Lieutenant Commander Fleming becomes the liaison between the SOE and “official” intelligence agencies.
To bring the “Postmaster” plan to life, the Major assembles a team of equally “psychos” as himself. It includes the huge Danish guy Anders (Alan Ritchson), the saboteur Freddie (Henry Golding), and the son of a fallen comrade of March-Phillips, Henry (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). On the way to the destination, they skillfully rescue an experienced spy Jeffrey (Alex Pettyfer) from Nazi captivity, who is supposed to be the brains of the operation. Two agents provide cover on the ground: one (Babs Olusanmokun) poses as a smuggler and casino owner, while the other (Eiza González) poses as a singer, with her task being to distract the Nazi commander (of course, Til Schweiger).
This ragtag group cleverly outwits the Nazis, constantly blowing things up, mowing down enemies in droves with pistols, rifles, and bows, as well as killing with knives, axes, and bare hands. Anders even likes to cut out their hearts—he raises an uncomfortable question at that point, what really sets him apart from these enemies, other than being on the historically correct side, but the action swiftly moves forward, leaving no room for reflection. Eiza González in a sexy white dress sings a song about Mack the Knife. One of the heroes postmodernistically quotes “Casablanca.” Military ministry bureaucrats try to throw sticks in the heroes’ wheels and threaten Churchill with impeachment. In the most crucial moment, Major March-Phillips convincingly simulates a communication loss, and the operation continues with noise, dust, and the glow of burning weapons depots.
Any lazy film critic will immediately think of “Inglourious Basterds.” However, while Tarantino created his own version of the story on screen, filled not only with blood and dark humor, but also genuine pain, where violence did not turn into an end in itself, Ritchie simply plays soldiers thoughtlessly, more mechanistically than with genuine enthusiasm. This game may entertain for a short while, but you outgrow it long before the final credits roll.