During World War II, the British Army assigns a group of competent soldiers to carry out a mission against the Nazi forces behind enemy lines... A true story about a secret British WWII organization – the Special Operations Executive. Founded by Winston Churchill, their irregular warfare against the Germans helped to change the course of the war, and gave birth to modern black operations.
04 Jun The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Slap in the Face
Richie is not on my list of filmmakers to admire, but he has indeed made some admirable films, with probably the best being ‘Snatch’, a layering of noir and introspective humour, with harpsichord. They are jaunty, unique, personally cinematic. One might say that there is a Richie multiverse.
This is disconnected; I cannot understand where this film came from. It is pretty standard macho fare, with little to differentiate from other vigilante superhero projects. Even the score is ordinary.
Some elements are retro: Nazis, a seductress, costumes. Others are modern; post Tarantino sequences; multiple, simultaneous peril situations. As usual in comic book movies, the good guys have super human strength, skills, and luck.
The only thing not profoundly dull is Cavill’s character of March-Phillipps, which we have to assume he largely invented in how he carries himself. There’s surely some Johnny Depp in there. I found it charming, while at the same time insulting to the actual men and women who do this job.
But that hardly makes up for this visual blather.
Posted in 2024
Ted’s Evaluation — 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
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