The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Lionsgate | Release Date: April 19, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
17
Mixed:
20
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireJohn NugentJul 25, 2024
Guy Ritchie’s defiantly ahistorical romp is part derring-do spycraft, part bullet-riddled action, part impish comedy, and all-parts silly. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryApr 18, 2024
As war movies go, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ends up in a kind of no-man’s land, draping elements of “Mission: Impossible,” “Inglourious Basterds” and director Guy Ritchie’s brand of violent action-comedy over the bones of a fascinating World War II true story. The underwritten, somewhat messy results are broadly entertaining if not fully seaworthy from a dramatic point of view. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeApr 17, 2024
As another one of the director’s mid-budget, mid-level crowd-pleasers, it mostly works – well-made enough to distract in the moment but not quite enough to last in the many after, unlikely to catapult him to the top or sink him to the bottom. Read full review
60
Time OutElizabeth WeitzmanApr 17, 2024
Cavill’s band of rebels are drolly enthusiastic, which is really all that’s asked of them. Kinnear’s Churchill impersonation falls flat, but Til Schweiger’s chief Nazi is aptly villainous, and Elwes is a delightfully dry M. Aside from the overlong denouement, the action zips by so quickly that the end notes – about the remarkable true-life team – pull us up short. These extraordinary heroes had no time for larking about. But they’d probably be chuffed to see themselves as spies insouciant enough to inspire 007 himself. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 16, 2024
These guys are so good at what they do, Ritchie fails to muster the expected tension. Instead of suspense, audiences feel a sense of delight in watching them succeed, no matter the setback. Read full review
60
Screen RantMolly FreemanApr 16, 2024
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. Read full review
58
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 16, 2024
As much as I’d love to see these characters in another film, I’d also love to have seen more of them in this one. Oh, and a quick general note to action directors everywhere: Silencers are great for stealth kills, but they really suck the fun out of a full-blown siege. Read full review
57
PolygonOli WelshJun 27, 2024
The dialogue (by Ritchie and three other screenwriters) is lumpy and unconvincing, but that’s not why anyone watches a film like this. It’s a romp, disposable but sturdily made, with satisfyingly blunt action scenes that have been framed by a true master. Read full review
55
The Daily BeastNick SchagerApr 18, 2024
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare would seem to be an almost ideal project for Ritchie—which is why its lethargy comes as such a dispiriting surprise. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubLauren J. CoatesApr 22, 2024
There’s no intentionality behind Ungentlemanly Warfare, no perspective or passion to drive what should be a gleefully schadenfreude-filled time at the movies. With the exception of a scene-stealing Danny Sapani, The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a forgettable action vehicle ferrying a gaggle of uninspired rascals. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonApr 18, 2024
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is not a good movie nor a terribly enjoyable one, if you’re paying attention to it. But as background noise, it’s diverting and intermittently amusing. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreApr 18, 2024
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the 15th feature from Guy Ritchie, and while it’s not very good, it’s also hard to dislike something that has the genial tone of a day-drunk romp. Read full review
50
Washington PostJen YamatoApr 18, 2024
As much as Guy Ritchie’s uber-violent, stakes-free, World War II action comedy caper “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” milks its “based on a true story” bona fides, it’s more akin to the last decade’s glut of slick, cool-guy popcorn pictures (including his own) than any meaningful retelling of real heroism. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 18, 2024
In the end, this is not really a World War II movie. It’s just a pretty good action film that borrows the plot from about three or four “Fast and Furious” movies, while stealing riffs from Tarantino. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesApr 18, 2024
The disappointment in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare lies in how much potential it had to be something more. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyApr 17, 2024
While the action and suspense set pieces are executed with typical Ritchie bravura, the movie falls flat a lot of the time in between. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDerek SmithApr 16, 2024
To Ritchie’s credit, he keeps his film moving along at a consistently brisk clip, but that breeziness is also the cause of its weightlessness, rendering its vision of historical events as outright cartoonish, down to the often clownish portrayals of Nazis and the flawless execution of nearly every element of March-Phillips’s plans. Read full review
50
SlashfilmJeremy MathaiApr 16, 2024
But when the smoke of its bombastic climax clears, what we're left with is an oddly sanitized, toned-down, and somewhat misshapen addition to Ritchie's oeuvre. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyApr 16, 2024
Chronicling a covert World War II mission manned by a band of renegades, the movie is diverting but remains awkwardly stuck between a larkish caper and a more gripping combat action thriller. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonApr 16, 2024
The result is a smirking, shallow action-comedy — a total mission failure. Read full review
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