Plot: What’s it about?
When it comes to Guy Ritchie’s films, it’s hard (for me) to pick a favorite. He’s got a style that you either love or hate (or love to hate), but your personal opinions aside, as well as his marriage to Madonna, I think we can all agree he’s a talented filmmaker. He burst onto the scene back in 1998 with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and then followed it up with what I feel is Brad Pitt’s best performance in Snatch. Ritchie’s films have a different vibe to them and, as such, might be considered an “acquired taste.” He had a bit of a dry spell in the mid 2000’s, though I enjoyed some of his more recent works like The Gentleman and, yes, I even liked The Man from U.N.C.L.E. However, thanks to the work of author Damien Lewis, we now know that Winston Churchill had a big part in turning the tide in World War II. Lewis’s book: Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill’s Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops, serves as the basis of this film. It’s a fun ride.
In an homage to The Dirty Dozen, we meet the main cast of characters with mission leader Gus March-Phillips (Henry Cavill), an actual operative for Winston Churchill’s covert organization. Gus is tasked with assembling a team of fellow sophisticates to infiltrate the Spanish island of Fernando Po off the coast of West Africa. There they’ll find a Nazi U-boat supply vessel which they’ll need to destroy and, thus, cripple the Nazi’s and their conquest to take over the world. This is an ensemble movie, of course, and Phillips’ team also has a Danish archer, Anders Lassen (Alan Ritchson), explosives expert Freddy Alvarez (Henry Golding), Marjorie Stewart (Eiza González) and finally casino-owner Mr. Heron (Babs Olusanmokun). It’s called Operation Postmaster. Oh, and there’s also a bit of an oddity in there as one of the characters is Ian Fleming (Freddie Fox), the author of the James Bond novels and, word has it, that the character played by Cavill was the model for James Bond himself. How’s that for full-circle?
I’m always fascinated by true stories and by no means is this a documentary or a shot-by-shot re-enactment of what actually happened. Ritchie knows his audience and uses history as a guideline, but aims for adventure and excitement over fact. If you’re going into the film expecting a Dunkirk-style film, look elsewhere. I found that if you take an equal part of Inglorious Basterds and maybe just a dash of Ocean’s Eleven (yes, really) it’d be a good way to describe this film. The cast has a good time with their roles and at two hours, I found it the perfect amount of time without being too overly long. It’s got adventure, lots of things blow up and plenty of dead Nazi’s – what’s not to love?
Video: How’s it look?
There’s plenty to love about the way this looks and anyone who’s familiar with the work of Guy Ritchie won’t miss a beat. The included 2.39:1 AVC HD image pulls no punches with bright, bold colors and razor sharp detail. When you can see the veins on Alan Ritchson’s bulging arms or the individual hairs in Henry Cavill’s beard – it’s a good-looking image. Though not quite as stylized as some of his other works, this left me duly impressed. The film is also available in 4K which I imagine will look a bit better with deeper colors and so forth, but I had absolutely nothing to complain about with this Blu-ray.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Thankfully Lionsgate has included a Dolby Atmos mix on the Blu-ray. So while other studios are charging you a few bucks extra to get that uncompressed and atmospheric sound, you’re fine here. This is a Guy Ritchie movie, after all and with that we’re treated to plenty of things blowing up and guns, lots of guns (though they’ve got silencers on them, so the usual “rat a tat tatt” has been supplanted by something that sounds more akin to a sneeze). Vocals are pure and crisp, Cavill’s deep voice resonates with every line of dialogue. Not to be outdone is Christopher Benstead’s amazing, yet somehow playful, score which serves as the icing on the cake.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Ministry of Filmmaking – The disc’s only “real” supplement comes in the form of this 24 minute featurette. It’s not bad, though it’s nothing we haven’t seen before, either. The main members of the cast and crew all give their .02 on the film, its history and so on. It’s nice to have, but nothing I’ll ever view again.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
I personally enjoyed the film, but given its dismal box office, I’m sure the studio was expecting more. While not Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I found that this one fits nicely smack in the middle of Guy Ritchie films – not too little and not too much. Lionsgate’s disc offers up reference-quality audio and video, though the lack of any real supplements is a bit disappointing.
