Picture this: it’s 1941, you and your crew are on a top secret mission sailing down the west coast of Africa with one target in mind, a Nazi supply ship. Without government approval, you are at risk of imprisonment for life, turning the tide of the war relies on you.

This pressure cooker situation is from “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” a 2024 movie directed by Guy Ritchie which has a large array of primary and supporting actors.

The movie is based off of the mission Operation Postmaster, which wasn’t declassified from Winston Churchill’s private files until 2016. The events of Operation Postmaster were hidden by Winston Churchill, out of fear that he would be moved out of his position as prime minister.

The main cast consisted of Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Henry Golding and Babs Olusanmokun. This rag-tag team of criminals, spies and military men have been recruited by the British Prime Minister to save the world and get America involved in the war.

A large portion of the movie takes place on a small fishing vessel off the west coast of Africa, before moving to a Nazi supply base at the port of Fernando Po. The heroes must make a pit stop to rescue their plan maker from a Nazi prisoner of war camp.

There was a clear struggle with character development, each character being static, and not learning from any of the experiences. However, the constant action, music, cinematography and comedic dialogue makes up for it.

Gus March-Phillips, played by Henry Cavill, is the big hero of this movie. Known as the founder of the British Army’s No. 62 Commando, and one of the forerunners of the Special Air Service, his brave, head-honcho character leads our team of misfits to save Britain.

There is an abundance of Nazis soldiers throughout the movie, portrayed as incompetent and unskilled buffoons easily being taken out in combat scenarios where the odds are in their favor, even so far as to where they completely lack any form of situational awareness.

Two minor roles have a connection with the story line, Mr. Heron, played by Babs Olusanmokun, and Marjorie Stewart, played by Eiza González. Both of these characters are tasked with distracting the Nazi soldiers and leaders with parties and romantic shenanigans.

Twists and turns happen throughout the movie with the plan constantly changing, going from blowing up the ship, stealing the ship due to recently applied extra armor on it, having to save other members from certain demise, or almost losing somebody in combat.

The overall product caused a great internal conflict within me, since the movie lacked character development, causing a lack of understanding through the characters.

The constant action also left little to no rest periods where we could comprehend what had happened. The large cast of characters, some looking alike, meant it was hard to keep track of who was who.

However, the stunning visuals, thanks to practical and CGI effects, make for good eye catchers, keeping the audience engaged.

This is a solid movie night film, and is definitely one viewers should own on Blu-Ray.
I give the movie 4 out of 5 feathers