Who needs the DCEU? It looks like Henry Cavill is about to have one heck of a big 2024, with Argylle opening Friday and his latest, Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, getting an explosive new trailer that promises lots of WW2 spy shenanigans with a distinct Guy Ritchie twist.
The all-star movie features Cavill as the head of a Dirty Dozen-like team charged with neutralizing German U-boats in the North Atlantic. The story is loosely based on a real special forces team from WWII, which, among its members, included James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Of course, being a Guy Ritchie movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, expect less intrigue and more firepower, with the trailer scored by Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” and having a body count that’s already in the dozens. It really does look like a lot of fun, with Cavill seemingly having a blast as the rowdy head of the team, which includes the gorgeous Eiza González, Alan Ritchson (who’s blowing up off of Reacher), Alex Pettyfer, Dune’s Babs Olusamokun, Henry Golding and more. Slow Horses star Freddie Fox is supposed to be playing Fleming.
Here’s the official synopsis from Lionsgate, who are releasing the film domestically:
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.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare hits theaters on April 19th and looks like an old-school action blast. Between this, Road House and Monkey Man, this spring looks like a great one for action movies. And, if you want to check out another interesting (but lower-key) take on Ian Flemings’s WWII heroics, check out the underrated Netflix movie Operation Mincemeat.