Based on author Damien Lewis’ nonfiction book “Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII” (2014), Guy Ritchie’s newest period action-comedy and fifteenth feature film “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” stars Henry Cavill (“Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” 2021) as Gus March-Phillips, who’s assigned an unsanctioned mission by Brigadier Gubbins “M” (Cary Elwes; “Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire,” 2023)—backed unofficially by then Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear; “Men,” 2022)—to get the Nazis to back off from the Brits. 

Rounding up a team that includes Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding; “Crazy Rich Asians,” 2018), Danish naval officer Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson; Amazon Original series “Reacher,” 2022), Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin; “The Woman King,” 2022) and SOE saboteur Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer; “Elvis & Nixon,” 2016), alongside the Brigadier’s allies Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González; “Ambulance,” 2022) and Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun; “Dune: Part Two,” 2024), who’ve already begun scoping out their mission target: the Duchessa d’Aosta, an Italian supply ship sitting pretty in the Spanish-controlled island of Fernando Po. 

Their biggest obstacle is SS commander-in-charge Heinrich Luhr (Til Schweiger; “Atomic Blonde,” 2017), whose distraction will help the team destroy the Duchessa and its two tugboats. Things, obviously, do not go as smoothly because Luhr is a challenging foe who’s as terrifyingly brutal as he is perceptive. Then again, March-Phillips is unconventional, unbothered, and improvises like no one else’s business. The match is set, the stakes high, and the timeframe impossibly narrow.

Like most Guy Ritchie action comedies, “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is packed with oodles of style and a ton of wit. Unlike those action comedies, however, it ends up, yet again, being among his more held-back creations—something that, except for the “Sherlock Holmes” two-film series, seems to have had more prominence post “Revolver” (2005). For all intents and purposes, though, it’s a smashing entry in Ritchie’s repertoire, which flourishes the actual events it’s based on like a badass heist actioner that feels like it’s two steps ahead of you but wants you to play anyway.

The narrative itself is primarily linear, but its whipsmart screenplay—credited to as many as four people including Ritchie, Arash Amel (“Rise,” 2022), and duo Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (“The Outpost,” 2019)—keeps it flowing, drawing you into these characters and their lives. The respective arcs of Lassen and Stewart, in particular, are complemented beautifully by the powerhouse performances of Ritchson and González. Cavill’s screen presence is packed with enough charm to carry the film on its shoulders. Still, the wild array of performances from Pettyfer, Olusanmokun, Schweiger, and Tiffin stand toe-to-toe with Cavill’s (diet-)manic energy by performing with impressive conviction.

Sure, it’s not unleashed Ritchie—as has been seen can still be possible with the crime comedy “The Gentlemen” (2020), “Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre” (2023) and the white-knuckled Statham vehicle “Wrath of Man” (2021)—but it’s still the kind of breathlessly sophisticated style-statement action film you’d expect from the director, feeling all the more impressive when you put its adaptation of the true-to-life timeline of “Operation Postmaster” in context. 

“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” may still share some trademarks with films based on historical events—epilogue via text slates closing the film—but there’s a strong sense of joie de vivre when watching what’s essentially a bangin’ action-packed remix of what could have otherwise been a rather dull biopic-styled docudrama that those tropes really don’t matter in the long run. If you can, catch the film on a cinema screen near you for the best experience. Unless you’re stuck with streaming/VOD, like its limited release structure—in which case, if you’re looking for the next film for movie night, this should pair perfectly with a snack of your choice.