The British Get the 'Mission Impossible' Treatment in 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare'

The true history of the British Special Forces, known as the SAS, has been a popular subject in the last few decades as classified documents from the era pass into the public record. The shoestring and chewing gum operations of the era have been the stuff of legend since the end of the war, including directly giving rise to James Bond. (Former member of the SAS, Ian Fleming, used his experiences to inform the popular series.) But as the documents confirming these stories emerge, a cottage industry of nonfiction books on the subject has sprung up, and from them, TV shows and movies inspired by these events, including Guy Richie's latest would-be blockbuster, The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Richie's is far from the first entry into this genre. Operation Mincemeat, for example, was originally planned for theatrical release, but the pandemic sadly put the kibosh on that, and it wound up lost on Netflix. SAS Rogue Heroes (which over here is merely titled Rogue Heroes) was a smash hit on the BBC when it debuted in 2022, but sadly completely went unnoticed on Epix, which was in the middle of its rebrand to MGM+ at the time. (Hopefully, Amazon will have gotten its house in order by the time Season 2 arrives later in 2024, and the series will get a fair shot this time.)

The good news for The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare is that it does not suffer from a lack of marketing like Operation Mincemeat did or lost on a platform no one subscribes to, a la Rogue Heroes. The film is getting a high-profile release in theaters, a full-scale marketing push worthy of its blockbuster status, and it even boasts a decent marquee cast, though perhaps not in the traditional "action star" sense, other than Henry Cavill (Argylle), who leads the roster as the real-life Gus March-Phillips, who led the team. Check out the trailer, which provides plenty of aforementioned action, and Cavill having a blast doing it.