Warning: Spoilers Ahead for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Guy Ritchie’s latest movie brings a secret mission from World War II to life.The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfaretells the story of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert black-ops group on a suicide mission to sabotage Nazi U-Boats. The film features a star-studded cast of action veterans alongside some newcomers, including Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Cary Elwes, and many more.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareis possiblyGuy Ritchie’s most action-heavy movieto date. The film blends itsSuicide Squadconcept with the attire, weaponry, and gentleman-like persona of the British special forces.But does the Special Operations Executive survive their mission that was seemingly doomed from the start? What did that twist ending actually mean? And is there a potential sequel on the horizon?
Does Henry Cavill’s Team Survive the Mission?
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War II film following a top-secret combat unit who were formed by Winston Churchill to hunt down Nazis. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and based on the book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops by Damien Lewis.
Read Our Review
As previously mentioned, the mission (code-named Operation Postmaster) the SOE embarked on is a suicide mission. If the SOE arecaptured by the Nazis, they’ll be interrogated and killed. If they’re captured by the Allied soldiers, they’ll spend the rest of their lives in a military prison. This threat looms over the SOE throughout the film. If that wasn’t enough of a problem, when the SOE finally arrived at Fernando Po to sabotage the U-Boat supply base, it appeared their intelligence was wrong.The supply ship they planned to destroy had been reinforced and was ‘unsinkable.’ The SOE is then left with no other option than to steal it.
With the fate of the entire war on their shoulders, the SOE infiltrate the base to steal the ship. Meanwhile, Agent Heron (Babs Olusanmokun) and Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) are already stationed in Fernando Po, gathering intelligence and trapping the Axis soldiers in an underground party. The majority of the mission goes surprisingly smoothly. However, when Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson) and Geoffrey Appleyard (Alex Pettyfer) attack the crew of the supply ship, the mission starts to go south. After blowing up the power supply to the island, the resulting explosion alerts the Nazis.The Nazi soldiersescape their confinement and begin to descend on the SOE.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Stars on Sparring with Guy Ritchie and Having a Blast
Babs Olusanmokun and Eiza González chat about working with Guy Ritchie on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
The SOE rush to the ship and are forced to use its mounted machine guns to fend off the Nazi soldiers while they make their escape. During the firefight, Henry Hayes (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin) is shot in the shoulder, and Geoffrey Appleyard rushes to cover him, dragging him back to safety.Luckily, the SOE just managed to escape on the supply ship, towing it using two smaller tug boats.
After reaching relative safety, the team waits for Agent Heron and Marjorie Stewart to catch up with them in a separate tug boat. However, this comes with the risk of the Nazi soldiers catching them as well. Thankfully, Heron and Stewart reach the SOE before the Nazis, and the team set sail for England.
Are the SOE Arrested in England?
From the start of the mission, it was made clear to the SOE that they would be incarcerated for their involvement in the covert operation. Operation Postmaster was kept secret from almost every major General in the British army, and the team reported only to Winston Churchill (Rory Kinnear) and his most trusted Brigadier,Gubbins ‘M’ (Cary Elwes). As a result, when the SOE handed over the stolen ships to the British Navy,they were put under arrest and sent back to England.
Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin Discuss Guy Ritchie Behind-the-Scenes
Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin go behind-the-scenes on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
The audience next sees them at a military prison in Aldershot, England. This was a real military prison known as ‘The Glasshouse,’ a nickname quickly adoptedby all British militaryprisons. The team are cuffed and chained together and are brought into a detention room. Winston Churchill slowly enters the room and begins berating the team for defying orders and executing the mission.However, he then orders the cuffs to be removed and reveals several large platters of food and bottles of alcohol to celebrate a successful mission.
Will There Be a Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare 2?
It is currently uncertain whether we will see a sequel toThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. MovieWeb recently spoke tolegendary producer Jerry Bruckheimerabout his involvement in the film and asked him about a potential sequel. Bruckheimer said:
“If it was up to me? Yes. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to the audience… Guy [Ritchie] certainly would like to and the cast had such a good time making this movie, they’ll do it again.”
There is plenty of narrative potential for a direct sequel. The Special Operations Executive conducted missions throughout most of the Second World War, operating from 1940 until their dissolution in 1945. The team undertook dozens of covert missions during World War II. These ranged from sabotaging Nazi supply bases to organizing breakouts from Prisoner of War camps. The SOE also wasn’t exclusive to the team shown in Guy Ritchie’s film.The real SOE operated across multiple European countries, with various divisions in France, Norway, and many more locations. Potential sequels could feature an entirely new set of soldiers on a completely different suicide mission.
Throughout his early career, Guy Ritchie had never made a direct sequel to one of his films. However, this changed in 2011 when Ritchie directedSherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to 2009’sSherlock Holmes. Ritchie also seems to be more open to directing sequels in the 2020s. He is currently slated to directAladdin 2, a follow-up to the 2019 live-action remake of the beloved Disney animated classic.
Some fans have already ruled out the possibility of a sequel toThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfaredue to the rarity ofGuy Ritchie directing sequels. But, in 2024, the likelihood is higher than ever.The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareis currently playing in theaters.
