In brief, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an ensemble war movie where Superman and Jack Reacher team up to kill Nazis as part of a daring World War II-era mission. One of this pair’s open defiance of military and political norms to achieve espionage goals reportedly laid the foundation for both contemporary black ops and James Bond himself. That said, those expecting a deep history lesson about an actual World War II mission and a realistic take on warfare will be disappointed because director Guy Ritchie has other plans.

If anything, Ritchie’s movie uses Operation Postmaster — based on Winston Churchill’s wartime files that were declassified in 2016 — as the set-up for what might as well be a live-action version of the Wolfenstein games. The movie even comes complete with extended stealth sequences and gunfights where burly, walking action movie archetypes gun down hundreds of Nazis. While this happens, said heroes rarely, if ever, suffer a single wound. They’re not exactly bulletproof, but they’re clearly playing the game on Easy Mode.

But what it lacks in character depth, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare offers enough story structure and a good supply of stylized action to keep viewers entertained by the mayhem. Again – this is a movie about killing Nazis. Whether the movie is good or bad, it’s always satisfying to watch Nazis die by the hundreds on screen. .

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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is obviously indebted to The Dirty Dozen and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. This was made obvious by all three movies’ similar poster art. Like its inspirations, this movie is set in 1941, during World War II’s direst moments. Great Britain is the last bulwark of European defense against Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany and their goosestepping fanatics. The Nazi army continues its advancement against the free nations of the world and, with the United States yet to enter the war, overseas aid remains elusive for the British forces. And even if the Americans wanted to join, there remains the threat of Germany’s U-boat fleet, which cut off America’s naval access while leaving England boxed in.

So, as Prime Minister Churchill (Rory Kinnear) declares, “Hitler is not playing by the rules, so neither are we.” He then sanctions an off-the-books mission to destroy a resupply operation located on the island of Fernando Po and strike a crippling blow to the Nazi war machine, its submarine fleet and its ego. This, obviously, means assembling a ragtag team of eccentric saboteurs.

The leader: Major Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill) an unorthodox ruffian with Hercule Poirot-level facial hair and a willingness to get results by whatever means necessary. Placed under the command of Brigadier Colin Gubbins (Cary Elwes) — who runs England’s Special Operations Executive (SEO) — and his subordinate Ian Fleming (yes that Ian Fleming, the author and creator of James Bond, played by Freddie Fox), Gus is tasked with leading the operation alongside a crew just as “out there” as him on the battlefield.

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These include the sailor Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), the explosive expert Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding) and the burly Danish soldier Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson). All three share Gus’s passion for breaking rules. The same goes for strategist Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), who Gus demands be part of the team even though he’s held captive in a Nazi prison. Before going to Fernando Po, the team head to said prison and casually gun down/stab/bow and arrow the entire prison’s guard population with extreme prejudice to retrieve their missing link. This casually irreverent action scene quickly set up The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s tone beyond Cavill’s maniac tongue wagging.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s heightened take on historical events and disregard for war’s dark realities will be familiar to anyone who’s seen a pulpy war movie before. This isn’t a movie high on characterization: the most depth that Gus and his crew show beyond an early briefing is their shared righteous disdain for Nazis. Richie was more interested in observing how his heroes killed Nazis rather than examining who they were beyond being “rule breakers.” For better and worse, the heroes lack a typical character arc. Their priority is racking up as many Nazi kills as they could while having a blast.

The movie’s B-plot adds some stakes by following SEO agent Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) as they prepare Fernando Po for the heroes’ arrival. Heron moonlights as a club owner and black market dealer to stay in the occupying Nazi’s good graces. Stewart poses as a woman of interest for the lead Nazi, Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger). The duo also uses their cover to secretly recruit local pirates to their cause. There is a natural risk whenever Stewart — a Jewish woman placing herself in the Nazi lion’s den — plays off the sadistic Luhr, but Ritchie still makes the tension during these interactions feel only slightly stronger than his thrilling action setpieces.

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As for the Nazis, they’re Movie Nazis. They’re openly malicious cartoon villains who only exist to speak German and get brutalized a few moments later with no remorse. This is shown as early as the opening scene, where a high-ranking Nazi boards the team’s boat and confronts Gus and Anders about his history of letting prior nautical victims choose between getting set ablaze with their ship or drowning. The fighting promptly begins, a couple of throats are slit, Nazis are gunned down, and a large Nazi ship is blown up.

These Nazis aren’t so much a physical threat as they are an endless supply of goons for Gus and company to fight before, during and after their heist. At most, they’re the embodiments of a looming evil that will strangle the free world if drastic action isn’t taken soon. This is why The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s more domestic and arguably worse threat comes in the form of British elites desperately persuading Churchill to capitulate to Hitler’s demands. This short-sighted and transparently self-serving thinking makes it easier for audiences to root for Gus and his team to succeed even more, because appeasing Nazis remains, in any era, an unbelievably stupid thing to do.

The action is the movie’s highlight, and it’s also where Ritchie feels the most in his comfort zone. By utilizing a number of stylized camera tricks, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s gunfights are fluid and grisly. Large crowds of Nazi grunts are mowed down via methods that look and feel exaggerated, but are still no less cathartic.

Coming from a filmmaker who specializes in kinetic thrillers like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., it shouldn’t be surprising that these setpieces and the actual heist fit perfectly well into Ritchie’s canon. It’s a testament to Ritchie’s mastery of heist movies that even if the action can be predictable at times, the movie still keeps viewers guessing as to how the heroes solve the Nazi U-boat problem while keeping team casualties to a minimum.

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While Cavill and his mustache are obviously the movie’s protagonists — partially thanks to his late-act bromance with pirate Kambili Kalu (Danny Sapani) — Ritchson is the movie’s real MVP. Anyone who’s seen him in Amazon Prime’s Reacher, which Ritchson recently compared to James Bond, knows he can play a walking tank of a fighter well. This movie took advantage of his acting style and massive physique by giving him a variety of weapons to use against the Nazis.

One minute he’s shooting them with a bow and arrow, the next he’s finishing off a room full of Nazis with a conveniently placed axe. Does the audience ever expect or even think that one of the Nazis could land a scratch on Anders? Of course not. But for those who wondered what a live-action take on Wolfenstein‘s B.J. Blazkowicz might look like, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare just provided a successful casting audition.

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There’s a simplistic feel and charm to Ritchie’s new World War II movie. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s enthusiastic cast and enjoyable shootouts give it the kind of infinite rewatch value that pulp war movies used to enjoy on late-night cable television. It follows and keeps alive the noble tradition of war movies that loosely retell a true story in an exaggerated world.

According to the credits, such daring feats of espionage — and Gus’s charismatic personality — would influence Fleming’s original grizzled depiction of James Bond, though this movie seems to owe more to the more heightened James Bond films in terms of tone. In fact, the movie even has a campy overall villain who wouldn’t feel out of place monologuing his evil plan to a captured 007. These parallels and clear tributes to MI6’s most well-known agent reinforce the movie’s old-school novelty and vibe.

At two hours, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is just lean enough in its presentation. It dove right into the action and never considered taking a break to tell a deeper story. It kept both characters and viewers on the same page as Gus and his team pulled off what the movie implies was one of the biggest unspoken turning points in World War II. Those who want to learn more about the individuals depicted here and the facts behind the real Operation Postmaster might want to read the book instead.

At its core, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare delights in metaphorically and literally flipping off Nazis whenever possible. Do you want to see a movie where the actors playing Superman, Jack Reacher and Snake Eyes work together to rack up a fascist body count? Then this movie will give you exactly that, and whatever else was promised on the poster.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is currently playing in theaters.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War II film following a top-secret combat unit who were formed by Winston Churchill to hunt down Nazis. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and based on the book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops by Damien Lewis.

Director

Guy Ritchie

Cast

Henry Cavill , Alan Ritchson , Eiza Gonzalez , Cary Elwes