Even the true stories in addition to the literary ones – always revisited – they inspire the filmography of Guy Ritchie and, after the serial interlude for Netflix and before the one that will see him return to the most famous detective in the world for Prime Videoalways in streaming as it had already happened in the past in our country (abroad, the theatrical release was guaranteed anyway), comes his most recent film as director, with the usual stellar cast full of testosterone and with a pinch of femininity.
The Ministry of Dirty Warbased on documents declassified in 2016 by the British War Department, focuses on the first special forces organization in history, formed during the Second World War by none other than British Prime Minister Winston Churchill together with a group of officers, which also included the writer Ian Fleming (yes, the creator of James Bond!). Ready for a super-stylish action comedy?
Chivalry is (not) dead
Henry Cavill as a “sea wolf”.
At the center of the movie plotas we were saying, the group formed by scoundrels and loose cannons, rejected by other organizations precisely because they are unpredictable and bloodthirsty and carefully chosen for this mission precisely because it is top secret and unofficial, therefore easily deniable if they find themselves at a disadvantage or are discovered. However, this certainly won’t stop the characters played by Henry Cavill (who had already worked with Ritchie in Operation UNCLE), Eiza Gonzalez (recently seen and appreciated in The 3-body problem and here perfect fatal Woman who is not afraid to get his hands dirty), Alan Ritchson (Already Reacher on the platform and new entry in the stable of the English filmmaker), Henry Golding (already with Ritchie in The Gentlemen) e Alex Pettyfer (I am Number Four). Alongside them in the ranks of the British and Nazis are the actors Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After), Babs Olusamokun (Dune), Henrique Zaga (Beyond the Universe), Til Schweiger (Inglourious Basterds) e Cary Elwes (The fantastic story). What characterizes the director’s protagonists is also found in this film: they are elegant and refined and at the same time dirty and rough, resulting in a charming and charismatic mixbetween a mix of accents (we recommend watching it in the original language) and a nautical look since they move via ocean.
Action and reaction
The Ministry of Dirty War it’s a action comedy like practically all Guy Ritchie’s films: the adrenaline-filled scenes are not long in coming but he likes to play with the spectators by making them sweat: typical are the narrative tensions in which it seems something is about to happen that then turns out to be nothing, winking on the one hand at the western, on the other at the spy genre. After all, this is a full-blown spy storywith various places scattered around the world, our group of (anti)heroes which is heading from one side of the globe to the other, the Nazis who must be stopped and are doing everything they can to put a spoke in his wheels, together with the British government for whom they are outlaws.
A real spy story.
He has more than perfected his shooting and camera skills, practically quoting himself, among others. details and close-ups aimed at increasing the pathos. The whole thing is made even more fascinating by the mixture of true and fictional history, since the incursion of these gentlemen into the war laid the foundations for the British Special Air Services and modern secret missions. The presence not only and not so much of a (great) Winston Churchill but above all of Ian Fleming It can’t help but sound almost like a harbinger of what the world’s most famous secret agent will be like.
Go back home
The cast of the film which is a perfect crew.
Guy Ritchie somehow he seems not to want to risk going beyond his own genre and his own comfort zone Behind the camera, however, this film is so well-crafted that you can get past the patina in which there is not even a hair out of place for the characters even during their acrobatics, unless the director wants it to be. It doesn’t have the brilliance and pace of The Gentlemen and The Covenantbut still manages to create its own (sub)identity which is the result of having mixed the named elements in a homogeneous way, giving each one its own role within the mission and the great film machine, soundtrack included (even if here less incisive than on other occasions). The male is always the fulcrum of Ritchie’s narrative universe but at the same time all those men would be nothing without a strong, finished woman revolving around them, and González brings the result home perfectly. They themselves are not afraid to show their sensitivity as well as tenacity and resistance. The filmmaker makes fun of everyone, Jews and Nazis included, in this ever-changing wagon that rhymes with History with a capital H.
Review by Federico Vascotto
The Ministry of Dirty War is a film that fits perfectly into Guy Ritchie’s curriculum and favorite genre, the action comedy, which in this case pays homage to the spy story and the pages of true history from which it is inspired. A celebration of the British secret services – or rather, of their top secret missions – and the adventures of Ian Fleming, with a fascinating and charismatic cast that cloaks the story in elegance and refinement, just like the work behind the camera of the English director.
- The ensemble cast.
- The “dirty” elegance of the staging.
- Mixing true and fictional history.
- Directed by Guy Ritchie…
- …even though it might seem like he can’t get out of his comfort zone.
- It’s less brilliant than The Gentlemen and The Covenant.
