The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

All the swagger you'd want from a Guy Ritchie movie is completely absent here.

It is a perfect match of story and director. Guy Ritchie is at his best in high-energy stories of very attractive men with mad fighting skills and no hesitation in using them.

“Ministry” offers all kinds of collateral nonsense to pad the main nonsense.

Never reaches beyond familiar low-hanging fruit.

It’s a Point A to Point B journey that comes down to wisecracking blokes shooting Nazis. Only Guy Ritchie can turn such a setup into a pleasure cruise.

It's competently made but leaves you with nothing to hang on to, so slick that it completely slips away.

The irony here is undeniable: It feels like Ritchie’s playing it safe with a movie about guys who break the rules to get the job done.

Ritchie goes for glossy in this highly modified, super stylized WWII treatment. Well paced and hyper violent enough to lull us into forgetting underlying horrors.

Ultimately, it's a movie that doesn't seem to enjoy itself very much.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a weirdly paced but fun little trip through history that is elevated by Guy Ritchie's signature style and genuine chemistry within the cast.