Henry Cavill’s new action movie gets mixed reviews, with critics saying it’s full of style but doesn’t live up to its potential

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The reviews for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare are in

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

The reviews are in for Guy Ritchie and Henry Cavill’s new action-comedy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare – but they’re decidedly mixed.

The new action caper, loosely based on the real events of Operation Postmaster during World War 2 and the Damien Lewis book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII, stars Cavill as Gus March-Phillipps, a soldier leading a force tasked with a daring raid on Italian ships off the coast of the then-Spanish island of Fernado Po.

Unfortunately, critics aren’t all sold on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, with Screen Daily calling it a “smirking, shallow action-comedy” and a "total mission failure." Ouch.

IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, meanwhile, lauds it as Ritchie’s best movie since 2015’s The Man From UNCLE (which also starred Cavill), but says it has "all swagger and no style."

"Though not Guy Ritchie's best film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has enough slick style and exhilarating action to be a helluva fun ride," Screen Rant’s Molly Freeman wrote.

Others, such as Variety, suggest however that Guy Ritchie is in a "tamer, slightly more traditional mode" for what amounts to "straightforward set-pieces."

The Hollywood Reporter remarks that the movie – which also stars Alan Ritchson, Eiza Gonzalez, and Henry Golding – is let down by its execution, which "doesn’t maximize the story’s potential."

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.