Spy comedy movies can be difficult to get right, as evidenced by the box office failures of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “Tenet,” and “Argylle.” Fortunately, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” succeeds due to a game cast, rambunctious action and witty script.
Lionsgate’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” which was released in theaters in the United States on April 19, follows Major Gus March-Phillips (played by Henry Cavill). An unorthodox soldier, March-Phillips, is recruited by Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) to lead a covert mission against Nazi Germany at the height of World War II.
The first reason why “Ministry” works is because of the cast. Cavill is clearly having a ball of a time as March-Phillips. He delivers many of the film’s best jokes, including a hilarious running joke about coats.
The supporting cast are no slouches, either. Alan Ritchson is a standout as Major Anders “the Danish Hammer” Lassen, whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow, but he is just as good with a gun or, yes, a hammer. The film has some good jokes, but one that I really liked was seeing Lassen, who at 6’3 is an imposing figure, attempting to be an innocent Swedish vacationer.
Also instrumental to the plot are SOE (Special Operations Executive) agents Richard Heron (“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” star Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González), as well as explosives specialist Freddy “the Frogman” Alvarez (Henry Golding) and master strategist Major Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer).
González is the most impressive here, because while the guys mostly just shoot Nazis, Stewart actually gets to do some spy work and she shows a real talent for it. The “Godzilla vs. Kong” star also gets to show off her vocal talents with a vampy rendition of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s “Mack the Knife.”
The second ingredient that works in the film’s favor, and in my opinion, the most crucial, is the rambunctious action. I mentioned that March-Phillips and crew mostly shoot Nazis and that they do for much of the film’s two-hour runtime. With that much action, you have to get creative with it, and experienced action director Guy Ritchie certainly does that, bolstering the action by playing with the lighting during a scene set inside a boat or subverting what seemed like a tame, non-action-filled scene.
The final reason why “Ministry” works is the script. A film can be filled with action, but audiences won’t engage with it unless they can enjoy the story. The script, which Ritchie co-wrote with Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson and Arash Amel, makes that easy, with witty one-liners and characters that are easy to root for. I actually could have used more of the story, even though the action is fun.
I thought the score was very impressive. Composer Christopher Benstead uses a lot of traditional pop numbers with prominent drums, which really help reinforce the 1940s setting. I also liked the sound design.
“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” doesn’t reinvent the spy-action-comedy wheel. It does, however, have a good mix of casting, action and writing that makes for a great spectacle.
