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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

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This article is about the film. For the secret British World War II organisation, see Special Operations Executive.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGuy Ritchie
Screenplay by
Based onChurchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII
by Damien Lewis
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEd Wild
Edited byJames Herbert
Music byChristopher Benstead
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate[1]
Release dates
  • April 13, 2024 (2024-04-13) (New York City)
  • April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$60 million[2]
Box office$1.45 million[3]

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a 2024 spy action comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Guy Ritchie, based on the 2014 book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis. The film portrays a heavily fictionalized version of Operation Postmaster.

The film had its premiere on April 13, 2024 in New York and was released in the United States on April 19, 2024.

Plot

In late 1941, at the height of the second World War, the United Kingdom is struggling to halt Nazi Germany's attempts to take over Europe, with London regularly suffering bombing runs at the hands of the Luftwaffe. With the United States yet to officially join the war and their supply and aid ships constantly scuttled by German U-Boats, Brigadier Colin Gubbins, with the indirect backing of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, prepares to initiate Operation Postmaster, an off the books sabotage mission intended to disrupt the Nazis' U-Boat resupply operation at the Spanish controlled island Fernando Po. While SOE agents Marjorie Stewart and Frederich Heron depart by train, Gubbins enlists renegade commando Gus March-Phillips to assemble a ground team to destroy the Italian supply ship Duchessa d'Aosta and two trolleys attached to it.

Utilizing the Danish fishing trawler Maid of Honor, Gus and his allies, Henry Hayes, Freddy Alvarez, and Danish naval officer Anders Lassen, begin the slow sail to Fernando Po. Upon discovering that SOE saboteur Geoffrey Appleyard, whom Gubbins had sent ahead on the assumption that Gus would show interest in wanting him on the team, had been captured by Gestapo agents, they divert course to a Nazi controlled section of the Canary Islands for a rescue mission. Meanwhile, arriving early on the island, Marjorie and Heron use the latter's 'illegal' gambling hall to recruit backup for Gus' team while Marjorie seduces Heinrich Luhr, the SS commander in charge. Upon learning that the Duchessa intends to depart three days ahead of schedule, Gus has his crew sail through a British naval blockade of Nazi-occupied West Africa despite knowing they'll be arrested should their unauthorized mission be discovered.

On the night of the intended raid, Marjorie and Heron learn that Luhr has had the Duchessa's hull reinforced despite the Italian attache's reservations. Barely warned of this in time, Gus and Appleyard decide that their best course of action is to hijack the ships and use them as a bartering chip after a mole in Gubbins' staff reveals the mission to senior command. Despite Luhr eventually catching on when Marjorie's act begins to 'slip', the raid is ultimately successful, and Marjorie shoots Luhr in the head. Delivering the boats to a British fleet outside Lagos, the team is nonetheless arrested. While waiting to be court martialed, they are saved and recruited by Churchill as part of his 'Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare', as their actions have not only severely damaged the Nazi's naval strength, but have allowed America, who had recently joined the war following a Japanese sneak attack on an American naval base in Hawaii, to join the European Theatre.

A montage of details reveal the post operation activities of several figures before the credits: Gus became a war hero and would helm several similar raids during the war before marrying Marjorie at the start of her movie career; Appleyard would go on to become a highly accomplished spy notable for surviving a year of Nazi torture without breaking; Lassen would go on to be part of raids outside the group until his death in 1945; Ian Fleming, who had been part of Gubbins' inner circle during this time, would use Operation Postmaster as the inspirational basis for his James Bond novels.[4]

Cast

Production

Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to Damien Lewis's book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops in 2015. Guy Ritchie signed on to direct the project in February 2021, from a script by Arash Amel, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing the film.[5] In October 2022, Henry Cavill and Eiza González were set to star, with Paramount no longer involved and Black Bear International now handling sales for the project.[6] In February 2023, additional casting including Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer and Cary Elwes was announced.[7]

Filming began on February 13, 2023, in Antalya, Turkey.[8][9] It wrapped up in April 2023.[10]

The day filming began, it was announced Lionsgate had acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, planning to give it a wide release in 2024, and that select international distribution rights had been sold to Amazon Prime Video.[8]

Release

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare had its premiere on April 13, 2024 in New York and was released in the United States on April 19, 2024, by Lionsgate.[11]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was released alongside Abigail and Spy × Family Code: White, and is projected to gross $5–8 million from 2,700 theaters in its opening weekend.[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 92 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Cranking up a true story of derring-do into a high-octane action flick that's heavy on spectacle if not suspense, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is another solid entry into Guy Ritchie's pantheon."[12] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Black Bear: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Black Bear Pictures. Retrieved March 19, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (April 17, 2024). "Box Office: Dracula's Daughter 'Abigail' Tries to Take a Bite Out of 'Civil War' With $12 Million Debut". Variety. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Ravindran, Manori (February 13, 2023). "Lionsgate Buys Henry Cavill-Starrer Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Variety. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Kroll, Justin (February 22, 2021). "Guy Ritchie Boards World War II Pic 'Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare' At Paramount". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (October 28, 2022). "Henry Cavill & Eiza González To Lead Guy Ritchie WWII Action Spy Pic The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare For Jerry Bruckheimer & Black Bear International — AFM Hot Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (February 1, 2023). "Henry Cavill & Guy Ritchie WWII Pic Ministry Adds Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, Til Schweiger & Henrique Zaga". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Kroll, Justin; Wiseman, Andreas (February 13, 2023). "Lionsgate Lands Domestic On Guy Ritchie, Jerry Bruckheimer & Black Bear's WWII Pic 'Ministry', Prime Video Splashes On Key Int'l Markets As Filming Begins". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "New Film From Director Guy Ritchie: Filming Will Start In Antalya, Turkey". Turkey Homes. December 21, 2023. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  10. ^ Rajput, Priyanca (April 26, 2023). "Henry Cavill's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare wraps production in Turkey". KFTV. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  11. ^ Imteshal, Karim (January 9, 2024). "Starring Henry Cavill, Guy Ritchie's 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' Finally Receives a Release Date Begins". Netflix Junkie. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 19, 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  13. ^ "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
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