It seems that Hollywood is incapable of growing up and removing itself from the constant flush of action films that focus purely on western saviours absolutely massacring the Nazis in comedic and cartoonish fashion. Action films that claim to be based on true events but are just far too insane to really have any emotional weight to them. Hackshaw Ridge and its action sequences of soldiers picking up bodies as meat shields is a great example of this. And the many other films that see western armies somehow mowing down militaries and bases with just a couple of guys as they crack jokes and make light of the situation in real time. I can't get behind this odd trend that refuses to just die. I'm not in general a big fan of action films, but the World War 2 ones just seem to disgust me in some other way. I feel that this is because of the sheer horror of the war for everyone involved. And the strange ways in which many of its participants still to this day, almost 100 years later, throw out propaganda over how their achievements achieved such easy, great success. Meanwhile, the few remaining survivors of that era are found giving interviews, breaking down as the speak of the sheer horrors they witnessed.
Understandably these films are just fiction, but they oddly breach the realm of reality by often connecting themselves to real stories, and that's where this fictional world breaches the non-fictional world, removing much of the seriousness of the events that once took place, no longer displaying them as something that shouldn't happen again, but as moments of sheer triumph. One might think that we would've progressed beyond this at this point, but clearly not. And it's for these reasons that I often avoid the action genre. A reason as to why I just can't seem to find enjoyment in the nonsensical gore and endless killing. I've written in the past about how much I disgust war films, and how so few of them show any humanity for what happened, showcasing the genuine reality of war and how all sides massively suffered at the hands of the greedy. 'All Quiet on the Western Front' was an interesting take on World War 1, where it did in fact show a darker, more depressing look at the events. Not displaying moments of courage, but showing the perspectives of citizens that assumed war was something far more different to what it really was. That connection with war effort propaganda, and the reality.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare isn't much different, though at the same time it's a rare instance of a film intentionally being a bit more comedic as it pursues the idea of the Second World War and those who fought within it. At the same time, it falls into the same tropes and mistakes of those before it, both serious and not-so-serious. Resulting in an idea that just isn't particularly special or new.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a pretty generic action flick. One that takes interest from a set of more serious stories within the Second World War and effectively takes a more superhero/comicbook look at it all. The idea is that Churchill calls for an elite, secretive group of military units to embark on a mission that seeks the destruction of Hitler's impressive U-boat fleets. These boats holding quite a tough grasp on the Allied forces and being capable of strangling them going forward within their agenda with the war efforts. Churchill calls on this group to pursue them and help put an end to them in attempt to gain an advantage over the Nazi forces. This idea isn't all that offensive, I think it has potential and could work, but it ends up feeling more like some idiotic, modern version of the A-Team in which a group of invincible, masculine men find themselves in ridiculous situations without ever really catching so much of a scratch on themselves as they dish out endless sums of lead into crowds of people.
My main problem with this came pretty quickly, I noticed that the characters are pursuing a fully charismatic and ignorant approach to all situations they find themselves in, never really giving any of it much weight. Rarely do we find ourselves actually seeing the characters in any actual danger, and never do they believe they are really in it either, as they constantly crack jokes in the faces of the enemy, who seem to be a mock-up stereotype of every Nazi ever. This contrast between characters that are comically evil and characters that are seemingly invincible and oddly in stupidly good shape just seems distracting. For some reason our league of gentleman seem to be a group of bodybuilding models. It's almost like playing a video game in which we have a superhuman protagonist against a group of skinny, frail Nazis with thick accents. Remember Wolfenstein? I couldn't stop thinking of this comparison. That's not necessarily a negative, but it does sway the film into that more comedic undertone rather than being a film that is more serious and dramatic.
Guy Ritchie's return to directing larger projects isn't anything to really scoff at, however. I think he's a director that definitely has a lot of potential, but has sort of cornered himself into the action genre with his prior creations. One of the things I did notice with the film was that it was rather well directed. The scenes do flow together quite nicely, and there's some nice cinematography in them in parts, particularly in the interior scenes in which the lighting has a bit more attention. Less so in the exterior scenes where it's more evident that things are computer generated and there's less emphasis on the objects and little details in the surroundings. It has a little more of a fake look to it all rather than displaying some truth to it. As always, the worst scenes are ones that include large ships and bodies of water, the Achilles' heel of any director, it seems. Regarding those interior shots, however, I think many of them look quite good. And those characters are looking fashionable and certainly cool in them. While I spoke negatively about the casting and the style, I can see it's purely intentional, and I admit it works quite well. It just isn't my sort of thing.
I think a problem with such films, in with this one included, is that there is such a degree of predictability that it removes some of the enjoyment. The idea that each interaction our characters find themselves in, they are inevitably going to make their ways out of it. And often enough it's very clear based on the charisma and endless jokes that are cracked in such situations. As well as introducing the fact that the film is loosely based on a true story at the start of the film; perhaps a better thing to do would be break that news at the end of the film, to include a surprise that doesn't immediately sum up inevitable success from the moments the opening credits start in the film. For me, it just had too many flaws to make it worth a two hour runtime. It felt too slow and repetitive, and gave me little to really care about regarding being a piece of entertainment. And that's certainly what it portrays this supposed triumph as: entertainment. Nothing of value, nothing of dramatical importance. It's all a bit of theatre. Perhaps some might find enjoyment in it, it's not a terrible film. It has its moments, and action fans alike will definitely appreciate the endless rounds popping off at the hands of gun-crazed British soldiers with a lot of charisma.
In the case of Henry Cavill, I don't think this is where his abilities should be spent. He's certainly better than this, but facing the problem of after-superhero-struggle.
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