Guy Ritchie's latest direction escapade, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, was a good feat with jazzy scoring, scene stealing by Eiza González, and good-hearted rebellious heroism courtesy of Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson, whom you may/may not have forgotten was Raphael in the 2014-16 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.
Set in the early 1940s, the film tells a fictionalized tale of Operation Postmaster. Similar to Magnificent Seven, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sets up the operation as a black ops group where several unconventional warriors were to thwart Nazi warships receiving supplies and help the United Kingdom effort in World War II.
While it was funny in the beginning with Cavill and Ritchson as Gus March-Phillipps and Anders Lassen outsmarting the Nazis with commando initiative and humor, the real appeal in the film came to me with Eiza González as Special Ops Executive agent Marjorie Stewart. I haven't heard a lot about females in these trying times, and Gonzalez really wowed me with her mental fore-playing and seducing with Nazi officials, then knowing how to attack in the end.
The scoring by Christopher Benstead seemed reminiscent of the jazzy, drumming music from Hidden Figures. It was pretty great when González had a musical moment.
As for the gentlemen's side, Cavill and Ritchson stood out between Cavill acting like Hannibal Smith from The A-Team and Ritchson acting like The Rock with his combination of sweet guy and muscle-head.
I guess I'd give a 7/10 for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
