The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 25, 2024

For a certain demographic, the name Ian Fleming may in fact be more recognizable for having written Chitty Chitty Bang Bang than for having written the inimitable James Bond tales, but it's that Bond connection that most informs The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, not just with regard to a kind of quasi-espionage mission at the center of the film, but due to the fact that Fleming evidently based the character of James Bond on one of the real life men depicted in this adventure. Most readers at least passingly acquainted with the "history" of James Bond will know that Ian Fleming served with distinction himself during World War II in England's Naval Intelligence Division, but until relatively recently at least some of Fleming's activities during wartime were unknown, since they were, well, top secret, with the only documentation evidently being a cache of papers belonging to Winston Churchill that was declassified only in 2016. While there is therefore some level of the perceived imprimatur of "based on true events" underlying this enterprise, there is absolutely no doubt that The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is, as they say, highly "fictionalized", though that doesn't necessarily act as a detriment to a kind of goofy romp whose outcome is never seriously in doubt (hey, most will know the "good guys" won World War II). Fleming, portrayed by Freddie Fox in the film, is admittedly not a central character to the enterprise, which instead focuses on a "black ops" team headed by Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill), a fascinating real life character who, as outlined above, provided inspiration for James Bond, but who in actuality was killed in action shortly after the events depicted in this film, which means any assumed sequels may have to engage in even more "fictionalizing" if they want to keep March-Phillipps at the center of the story, or alternately boot second banana Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson) or, heaven and/or testosterone forfend, Majorie Stewart (Eiza González) into the center spotlight.

This being a Guy Ritchie film, I might joke that you can pretty much count on there being an explosion within the first few minutes, and indeed there is a series of confrontations between March-Phillipps, Lassen and some hilariously overdressed Nazis who are boarding a schooner being piloted by our heroes. Suffice it to say that Ritchie, probably wanting to start things out with a literal "bang", opts to begin this tale at least partially in medias res, and after the big boom, things backtrack to detail how a frustrated Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) enlists the aid of operative M (Cary Elwes) and his lieutenant Ian Fleming to craft a "black ops" response to the scourge of German U boats. It turns out the U boats actually need regular filter replacements, and so a mad plot is hatched to destroy two ships in Fernando Po holding a cache of the filters.

While Ritchie may be remembered (for better or worse) for having helmed a big screen update on a sixties television classic featuring spies, namely The Man from U.N.C.L.E., it may actually be Mission: Impossible which is the better referent. While it's never really adequately explained, March-Phillipps is seemingly sprung from stir and tasked with assembling his own "Impossible Missions Force", with the same kind of "official deniability" at play, albeit in this case one that would end with the team being imprisoned by the British if the mission unravels, again for reasons that are probably more to do with expedient perceived threats than anything else. Interestingly, though, in terms of this "appointment" of operatives, there are already two "in the hunt", so to speak, aside and apart from the group March-Phillipps ultimately assembles. Those are actress and singer Marjorie Stewart (who in real life did indeed marry March-Phillipps) and colleague Richard Heron (Babs Olusanmokun), a character I suspect is largely fictional, are already attempting to infiltrate the Nazi stronghold where the supply ships are being docked in Fernando Po. And in that regard Marjorie utilizes her acting chops to become this film's veritable Cinnamon from Mission: Impossible, wooing a vicious Nazi officer Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger).

With all of that going on, you'd think Ritchie would have more than enough meat and/or potatoes upon which to chew, action set pieces wise, but this being Ritchie, there's a whole secondary and interstitial vignette involving the rescue of Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer), another real life character who sadly met his fate in battle a couple of years after the events depicted in the film. That decision, along with the aforementioned ping ponging of time frames may slightly interrupt the flow, but it goes without saying Ritchie knows how to stage his action scenes, and some of the editing by James Herbert is especially effective in developing momentum. There's also a good amount of humor from some expected verbal bantering to what are almost sight gags (pay attention to the hilariously oversized hat the German R boat commander early in the film wears).

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists the Sony CineAlta capturing at a source resolution of 8K, with a 4K DI, as the relevant data points, and the result is an often really gorgeous looking presentation in 1080, though I recommend those with 4K UHD setups to consider Lionsgate's release in that format, as both palette and detail levels receive some even better renderings. That said, this 1080 presentation is beautifully suffused and extremely well detailed throughout, taking full advantage of several lustrously beautiful outdoor locations while also offering really secure fine detail on practical items like costumes and sets. There are a number of subtle but interesting grading choices made throughout the presentation which probably have a bit more nuance in the 4K UHD version, but which are still nicely noticeable here, especially some of the almost sepia to orange-yellow grading of some interior scenes.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare features a wonderfully immersive Dolby Atmos track. I just spend a lot of time wading my way through Severin's huge The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Collection Vol. 1, and for anyone familiar with that peculiar subgenre, the, um, borrowing of cues from other films is a regular occurrence. Now, you can't say that Christopher Benstead outright stole from Ennio Morricone's epic score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in particular, but it's obvious that Benstead wants to evoke that sound, and some of the fun (and funny) "grunting" effects in the vocals are nicely splayed. One potential minus for some in terms of score or at least arranging choices, is a completely bizarre rendition of "Mack the Knife" that twists Weill into some unrecognizable shape. Everything from throats getting slit to rapid bursts of gunfire ricochet through the side and rear channels, and explosions (which are of course recurrent) get a nice lift from the Atmos speakers. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Ministry of Filmmaking (HD; 24:11) is an above average EPK with a lot of good interviews and some appealing behind the scenes footage.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:08)

Lionsgate sent their The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare 4K release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release comes with a DVD and digital copy, with packaging that features a slipcover.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're a Guy Ritchie fan, this film will provide everything you've come to love in a lot of Ritchie's films, from a fairly relentless (if occasionally interrupted) pace, to some luscious visuals, to goofy humor to of course lots of things that go boom if not bump in the night (or day, or in between). Technical merits are first rate, and the included making of featurette very enjoyable. Recommended.