Guy Ritchie is one of those directors that I likely have seen 75% of their work. I know there are a few titles I’d have to cram if I was going to rank his body of work, but I used to be a big fan. even when he started to get commercialized, I still enjoyed his Sherlock Holmes movies. but, he’s not perfect, and some of his films just lack that Lock, Stock flair that attracted us to him in the first place. that is not the problem with The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, an action comedy that feels like so much of the old Ritchie, and likely sparked the creation of James Bond. This was a real story, and Ian Fleming apparently was involved, which is how we got James Bond.

It really is almost like a historical Suicide Squad as a team of individuals are assembled to lead a secret mission that should help defeat the Nazi’s. Like most of Ritchie’s movies, this relies on an ensemble cast, which includes Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Henry Goulding, Cary Elwes, and Issa Gonzalez. Cavilll, who always feels like he should be in the Bond conversation based on how many adjacent roles he’s been in, is perfectly cast. I love Ritchson, and how his career has taken off,but honestly in all the jumbled ensemble mess, I kinda lost him. I felt like, with this whole cast, the scene stealer is Issa Gonzalez. Perhaps it is because it is a bunch of guys, and then her, so she has the opportunity to stand out, but she steals all of her scenes.

there’s one scene where she’s trying to prove that she can carry her weight by comically being awesome at every weapon, and she’s close to pulling a showstopper when the guys realize they don’t need it, and she’s proved her worth. There’s also a rendition of Mack The Knife, which I found out was historically accurate (at least in terms of that song being sung by a jazz artist at the time) that is just total fire. Bobby Darin’s version is great, but there’s a rhythmic drum that can’t be topped in this version, adding a sense of urgency to the scenes it underscores. I’m sure Best Original Song would go to something from Moana 2 later this year, and this isn’t an original song, but it will be the song I actually remember this year.

The audio description was good. I did buy this on digital, and i sat all the way through the credits, and no one was credited. No company. No narrator. However, William Michael redman’s voice is hard to not notice, and this is his handiwork. There’s a lot happening, like Ritchie’s earlier films where he balances multiple storylines and a broad cast. It is hard to fully quantify exactly how good this is, because it is a bit much to follow. There’s a lot happening, guy Ritchie loves his dialogue, and I admittedly kinda lost some of the characters/actors like Ritchson. But, it was such a nice return to form for Ritchie, that I’m riding pretty high on this. I’m glad I bought it outright, because I feel like I’ll be watching this again soon.

Technically, I’m giving this film this grade, because I know what Guy Ritchie’s potential is. He killed it with his first two films, paired terrifically with Robert Downey Jr in Sherlock Holmes, and directed the hell out of Jake Gyllenhaal in The Covenant. This is like RockNRolla, another Ritchie film I adore, that I can also tell is just a half step behind his best work. As of my review, this is in the Top 10 for me right now (though it will likely finish in the Top 25).

Final Grade: A-