Tag Archives: henry cavill

04.19.24
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The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Guy Ritchie’s latest action film is loosely based on true, mostly encrypted stories, in which the British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II.

Guy Ritchie seems to be racking out more movies than some of his fans will be able to keep track of, but among a slew with varying qualities, this one may end up being looked back at as one of his most entertaining films ever. Ritchie imbues the screen with an Inglorious Basterds-like irreverence to its Nazi-killing action. The WWII battles are swiftly edited and have action sequences that’ll make you cheer with glee at the bad guy body count and the different ways they get killed by the titular heroes. Henry Cavill leads the pack with a similar irreverence he gave Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but with an even rougher edge to his badassery. The ensemble of Eiza Gonzalez, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, and Cary Elwes all give the film a liveliness that makes up for a lack of uniqueness to them, as well as a menacing Til Schweiger who maintains a strong presence. Unlike last year’s Operation Fortune, the film’s witty humor matches the extra wicked energy the director is known for, but it may lack character depth for some viewers. Most of the characters have little substance besides “recently incarcerated” or “they’re crazy”, but their outlandish personalities make up for that in the case of this film. The soundtrack choices aren’t always on-point, but the Western-inspired music usually adds to the film’s sharp direction. The film also doesn’t manage to always balance the different moving plots seamlessly, as Ritchie sometimes can’t help but indulge too much in his trademark banters which can sidetrack, but ultimately culminates in some strong tension in the third act. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare perhaps achieves what Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man failed to do — turn covert misfit spies into World War heroes and make the journey feel exciting and earned on the way. Ritchie is no stranger to the approach he set out to achieve here, but he manages to balance out his quirks with an excellent style, an interesting mission and cast of characters, and a rewarding catharsis when the action and comedy hit their peaks, as you might not want the fighting to stop out of sheer Ritchie delight.

02.02.24
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Argylle

Elly Conway is the reclusive author of the Argylle spy novels . Soon, she realizes the plot of the new book she’s writing starts to mirror real-world events, as a global spy syndicate starts to come after her.

It’s always a blessing when Matthew Vaughn gives us a glimpse into his twisted mind with his witty and bombastic action scenes, and Argylle has a few of those, but it’s everything else that disappoints. Vaughn directs with a love for spy material and cartoonish entertainment mixed with modern, meta flare. The script, however, completely misses the mark and looks the commanding energy that his Kingsman had. Even Sam Rockwell, whose charm and goofiness often comes effortlessly, has to work with dialogue that falls flat and the attempts at humor don’t manage to illicit a response. Though Henry Cavill has some fun and Bryce Dallas Howard tries her best in the leading role, there’s more left to be desired in Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Samuel L. Jackson’s screentime. Bryan Cranston’s villain may be the weakest link of the cast, as everything he’s given to do is annoyingly generic.

The movie’s downfall is also its ambition, which is often what lifts Vaughn up above the rest. The ludicrous twists are executed in a head-scratching way, and all the film’s rules or explorations of fiction vs reality are thrown to the side for more frustrating decisions that make its lead character less interesting. The pacing also suffers greatly in the film’s second half, the end of which sees us getting a few of those glorious scenes of carnage Vaughn’s known for, which still feel softened compared to what they could’ve been due to the PG-13 rating, but are delightfully exaggerated and have great soundtrack choices. By then, however, the journey to get there is simply exhausting and it may be too little, too late for many viewers.

Argylle is a massive disappointment in which a singular director brings his trademarks to the screen yet again, only this time without the laugh-out-loud glee or the clever script that usually support his vision. Its ambition unfortunately exceeds its grasp, and its inconsistent and convoluted execution make this invitation to take the world a little less seriously with Matthew Vaughn a sadly unrewarding one.