I was not a fan of Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.” In fact, I’m just not very supportive of Ritchie’s overall body of work, more on that later.
Regardless, the reviews are decent — 55 on Metacritic and 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. What turned me off most about the film was how tonally off it all felt. Much like many of Ritchie’s films, it’s a narrative mess and can’t really find a good groove. There is so much to take in and, yet, so little to feed on.
Ritchie has two films in 2024 and maybe even three, with a fourth beginning production. There’s also “The Gentleman” spin-off series, which he wrote and directed, that debuted on Netflix last month.
Ritchie is VERY busy these days. He recently completed production on another action film, this one, again, starring Henry Cavill, Eiza González, and a certain Jake Gyllenhaal. It was also recently announced that he would direct “Fountain Of Youth,” starring Jon Krasinski, Natalie Portman, and González.
The English-born Ritchie initially built his career in the British crime-comedy genre, from “Snatch” to “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels,” he amassed a fanbase in the late ‘90s and early aughts that would follow him anywhere he went. Of all the Tarantino ripoffs that came after “Pulp Fiction,” Ritchie looked like one filmmaker who could actually stick around.
The problem was that the destination he decided to take next, and the ensuing paycheck-driven studio fare he decided to partake in, weren’t what his original fans had signed up for — “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” “Aladdin,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E” “Swept Away,” and two “Sherlock Holmes” films.
I will say this, I was a total sucker for Ritchie’s pandemic-released Jason Statham vehicle, “Wrath of Man,” which featured the best direction of his career and, in terms of style and tone, was a ballsy effort. Last year, Ritchie released a war film, “The Covenant,” another fairly impressive technical feat, that seemed to be well-liked by audiences.
Ritchie’s “The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is in theaters on April 19, 2024.