Review of the movie “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Affairs” - brutal military action film by Guy Ritchie
Predictable action-adventure about not the most famous World War II operation.
The year is 1942, the height of World War II. German U-boats dominate the Atlantic Ocean and destroy dozens of American and British ships. The US military cannot reach Europe because of the ubiquitous submarines, although Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) regularly asks for help. According to intelligence reports, the submarines' main base may be the harbor of Fernando Po Island, part of Spanish Guinea, a colony of a neutral country. Formally, the ships there are civilian, openly attack the ships can not. Then Churchill assembles a group of desperate saboteurs led by Major Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), who never obeys orders. The commandos face a dangerous raid into the enemy camp.
Formally, “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Affairs” is based on the book of the same name by British journalist and writer Damien Lewis. However, from the literary source Guy Ritchie left only the time and place of action, the main details of the operation “Postmaster” and the names of the main characters. Initially it was difficult to expect that the British director would follow the real events exactly and make a dry dramatic movie about an important page of the Second World War. Of course, the documentary basis adds weight to the narrative and increases the stakes, but Ritchie still gets a lightweight, but in some places spectacular action movie, in which there is no room for detailed disclosure of characters and analyze the epochal operation. It turns out to be almost a fairy tale with a dozen conventions, which it is better to close your eyes quickly.
The British director became famous in the late 1990s - early 2000s dashing and witty crime comedies and has earned comparisons with Quentin Tarantino. However, if the American author recently shoots exceptionally rare, to each movie approaches carefully and as if afraid to screw up, caring about the legacy for posterity, Ritchie is not on a joke and stamps new movies at an alarming rate. Maybe a pause would have been the best solution, but who's going to stop the Stakhanovite?
The Briton returned to his trademark crime comedies (“Gentlemen”), put playful Hollywood blockbusters (“Sherlock Holmes”), not squeamish game remakes of Disney animated pictures (“Aladdin”), tried his hand at serious war dramas (“The Interpreter”), sought to use his talents in medieval epics (“King Arthur's Sword”) and worked on honest brutal action films (“The Wrath of Man”). 2024 isn't over yet, but since the beginning of 2019, Ritchie has managed to shoot six full meters and two episodes of the series. On the one hand, you can rejoice and admire the industriousness of the director, on the other hand - the trademark tricks in the form of dynamic narration, catchy dialogues and bloody scenes not only do not cause any surprise, but also get bored.
The plot in “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Affairs” is simple and straightforward. While a group of saboteurs on a Swedish fishing boat sailing to the island of Fernando Po, a couple of agents in the rear are preparing the foundation of the upcoming operation. The commandos crush all the Nazis who get in the way, and in Spanish Guinea, Jewish vigilante Marjorie (Eisa Gonzalez) and casino owner Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) try to charm the main Nazi in Africa Heinrich (Til Schweiger) and cloud his brain. The two storylines complement each other quite nicely. The fishermen saboteurs are responsible for the pure and heartwarming action - you bet, because Henry Cavill is joined by Alan Ritchson, who honed his skill of killing with his bare hands, cold weapons, or any other method in the series “Jack Reacher”. Marjorie and Heron are meant to please viewers who prefer Richie's ironic dialog and salutations to cultural connoisseurs. Heinrich quotes Michael Curtiz's Casablanca: “I think it's the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” since the setting is African. And to make the Nazis melt, Marjorie sings Kurt Weill's song “Mackey Knife” from Bertolt Brecht's “The Threepenny Opera”. There is not a moment's doubt about the success of the operation.
“Ministry of ungentlemanly affairs” thanks to the bright victory of a handful of tough guys over the columns of Nazis put on a par with “Inglourious Basterds”. The difference is that Tarantino with cinematic passion rewrote history, affirmed the healing power of movies. Ritchie at best wants to remind British boys about the forgotten heroes of the Fatherland. But this is the maximum task, the minimum - to make a reckless frontal male movie about the triumph of good over evil. Let the blood flow, heads fly in different directions, and the deaths of Germans bring indescribable delight.
Perhaps it is time to admit that in the near future the British author is not going to surprise the public. Ritchie has switched to conveyor production and is only able to create different compounds from long-proven elements. “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Affairs” can disappoint with predictability and superficiality, but that's if expectations are high. Ritchie seems to be able to make movies like this with his eyes closed and with one left. It's a pity that the technical director has no intention of reaching new heights.
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