“If Hitler isn’t playing by the Rules, then neither shall we?”
Winston Churchill
A heavily fictionalised portrayal of Operation Postmaster, a covert WW2 mission to disrupt Nazi U-boat resupply and allow the USA to cross the Atlantic and join the European theatre, Guy Ritchie delivers a pulpy action espionage film with plenty of crowd-pleasing Nazi killing. Ritchie plainly wants Ungentlemanly Warfare to be considered alongside Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, even using a score filled with Western motifs to accompany his band of violent rogues. Although he attempts to ratchet tension in dialogue-heavy scenes with with Nazi officers, they feel closer to cutscenes from the recent Wolfenstein games and the cartoonish Heinrich Luhr poses no threat to Hans Landa’s standing in sinister cinematic villains. The Wolfenstein comparison is apt for the action too, with a hulking Alan Ritchson equally comfortable brawling or sniping with a bow, though Ritchie is oddly reserved when it comes to gore despite the high body count. Henry Cavill — once considered a prime contender for James Bond — is cast as one of the main inspirations for Ian Fleming’s character, and he brings a devilish charm to the dauntless Gus March-Phillips. This is the second time Ritchie has provided Cavill with a Bond-adjacent role, after casting him as Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. The sun-soaked African espionage is enjoyable, manging to conjure a little of Casablanca in casino-owner Heron, though the pacing stumbles in expository dialogue. The third act, an assault under cover of night, is a dimly lit affair that proves considerably less engaging — the result is an underwhelming culmination to film that had succeeded through bombast.
6/10
