Tag: henry-cavill

Film Review: Warfare Doesn’t Always Need To Be Gentlemanly

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is the latest action-comedy spy caper directed by Guy Ritchie and is actually quite entertaining in the typical over-the-top Ritchie style.

Ritchie co-wrote the screenplay alongside Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel. Henry Cavill is in the lead as Major Gus March-Phillipps. He is joined by an impressive cast that includes Alan Ritchson, Eiza Gonzalez, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Rory Kinnear, and Cary Elwes. The film is loosely based on the history surrounding a group of rogue operatives who worked secretly for Winston Churchill in efforts to disrupt Nazi activities during the Second World War.

The major and his company are sent on a mission to destroy a German supply ship docked at an island known as Fernando Po. They first have to rescue an ally who has fallen into the hands of the Nazis. They also are conspiring with a couple of spies on the island. Gonzalez plays an actress and singer named Marjorie Stewart who is assigned to seduce a Nazi commander on the island. The background is a mission known as Operation Postmaster, which apparently really happened. Of course, Ritchie took some creative liberties with the historical figures and events.

There is a lot of gratuitous violence throughout the film, but it’s pretty well choreographed and is entertaining to watch. The set designs are great. Gonzalez may be one of the most beautiful women I have seen onscreen in some time. Also, the rogue agents recruited by Churchill were great. There was some quintessential British deadpan humor that really makes this film work. I appreciated the humorous stoicism displayed by the team during the setbacks or what would be traumatic events to anyone else. Somehow, it’s almost always satisfying to watch Nazis getting mowed down with the frequency that occurs in this particular film.

I should note that Cavill’s role is apparently an inspiration for James Bond. Ian Fleming appears as a character as well and is plated by Freddie Fox.

Yes, this is a pretty ridiculous film but an enjoyable one. It also reveals another interesting historical piece of World War II that could bear some further research

Film Review: Will The Real Agent Argylle Please Stand Up?

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Argylle is an action comedy that manages to be some somewhat entertaining in spite of an over reliance on slapstick and a pretty peculiar plotline. Matthew Vaughn directed this film with Jason Fuchs credited as the screenwriter. Henry Cavill is om the title role, but the main protagonist, Elly Conway, is played by Bryce Dallas Howard. Sam Rockwell, Samel L. Jackson, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Catherine O’Hara, and Dua Lipa are included in the admittedly impressive cast.

Elly Conway is a spy novelist who has been living quite nicely thanks to the creation of her character, Agent Argylle. She is inexplicably ambushed while on a train trip, and she is then unexpectedly rescued by an actual spy, portrayed by the reliably entertaining Sam Rockwell. It seems that Elly has stumbled onto some authentic espionage while researching for her novel. Elly also is forced question everything and everyone she has known in her life because she is no longer sure where the fiction ends and the reality begins.

The cast really makes this pretty watchable. Sam Rockwell probably has the better role here. Of course, he usually knows how to make his mark in a film. The action wavered from being compelling to getting a little too ridiculous. I guess I wasn’t expecting the comic book style of violence. Howard is pretty convincing as the hapless writer who gets swept up in this peculiar caper

The film is pretty uneven when it comes to the level of enjoyment. It’s a promising story idea, and I applaud the attempt to do something pretty original, which has been lacking in Hollywood’s recent offerings. The overall talent of the cast makes this film watchable, maybe even a little better than that, however some of the action sequences were too long and a little too silly for my taste. The film serves the purpose of enticing me to the theatre without too much regret, but it still doesn’t offer much incentive for me to recommend it wholeheartedly.