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Martin Shore

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: release date, trailer, cast and everything we know

Henry Cavill and the cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare looks to be one of the best new 2024 movies coming our way this spring.

Directed by Guy Ritchie (The Gentlemen on Netflix), The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War Two action-comedy loosely based on the true events described in the bestselling book of the same name by historian, Damian Lewis.

Broadly, the movie tells the story of the first-ever special forces group established by the UK Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and a select group of military officials (which also included James Bond creator, Ian Fleming) during the war. Lionsgate just treated us to a new trailer, which makes it look like an all-guns-blazing caper that's not to be missed. 

Here's everything we know about The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare right now. 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare release date

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare hit US movie theaters on Friday, April 19, 2024. 

In the UK, the series will instead be streaming on Prime Video starting from Thursday, July 25. This is a similar pattern to the release of many of Ritchie's recent movies, including Wrath of Man, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and The Covenant 

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare reviews

Reviews are in for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. They're a bit of a mix, though lean towards positive. At the time of our latest update, the movie has a 79% Critics Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In What To Watch's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare review, we rated the movie 4/5 stars out 5, calling it both 'a funny, violent and explosive good time' and 'one of the best movies of the year'. 

Screen Rant's Molly Freeman gave the movie a 3/5 score, saying The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare 'has enough slick style and exhilarating action to be one hell of a fun ride', even if they said it wasn't Ritchie's best flick. 

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney labelled the movie 'moderately entertaining', claiming that its execution 'doesn't maximize the story's potential' and only took a halfhearted stab at bringing the real story to life. 

Who's in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare cast?

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare cast is packed full of top stars. 

The movie reunites Ritchie with several stars he's worked with in the past, including Argylle star Henry Cavill (they previously collaborated on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) and Henry Golding (who starred in The Gentlemen).

Also starring are:

  • Alan Ritchson (Reacher)
  • Eiza González (3 Body Problem)
  • Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride)
  • Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians)
  • Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike)
  • Hero Fienners Tiffin (After Everything)
  • Babs Olusanmokun (Dune)
  • Henrique Zaga (The Stand)
  • Til Schweiger (Inglourious Basterds)

What is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare about?

As we mentioned, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an action-packed World War Two comedy that recounts the top-secret early escapades of the first-ever special forces group. 

Put together by UK PM, Winston Churchill and a group of officials, this covert unit conducts a daring mission against the Nazi war machine, adopting truly "ungentlemanly" methods of fighting in the process. Their actions paved the way for modern "Black Ops" warfare.

Lionsgate's full synopsis for The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare reads: "Based upon recently declassified files of the British War Department and inspired by true events, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an action-comedy that tells the story of the first-ever special forces organization formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials including author Ian Fleming. 

"The top-secret combat unit, composed of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, goes on a daring mission against the Nazis using entirely unconventional and utterly “ungentlemanly” fighting techniques. Ultimately their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare."

Is there a trailer?

Yes! The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare trailer arrived on January 30, and it looks like an absolute riot. In it, we get our first introduction to Henry Cavill's Gus March-Phillips, a man who's been recruited to lead an explosive, unsanctioned mission behind enemy lines. We also get to see plenty of on-screen action courtesy of Gus and his 'mad' crew. Check it out below:

We've also included a behind-the-scenes clip below wherein our lead star talks about the experience of shooting the movie. From the sounds of things, he had a blast filming it!

Guy Ritchie movies

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare director, Guy Ritchie.  (Image credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

British director Guy Ritchie is known for serving fast-talking British crime comedies like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and his 2019 return to the genre, The Gentlemen, along with his Sherlock Holmes duology helmed by Robert Downey Jr.  

Here is his full list of feature-length directing credits to date:

  • The Covenant (2023)
  • Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023)
  • Wrath of Man (2021)
  • The Gentlemen (2019)
  • Aladdin (2019)
  • King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
  • Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
  • Sherlock Holmes (2009)
  • RocknRolla (2008)
  • Suspect (2007)
  • Revolver (2005)
  • Swept Away (2002)
  • Snatch (2000)
  • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
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