After a lifetime of World War II movies, we’ve all heard and seen stories about how the Allied powers defeated the Nazis in large-scale battles. But Lionsgate’s upcoming action / comedy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare from director Guy Ritchie seems like the sort of feature that might throw audiences for a loop — if not for its slick action sequences, then for the way it’s inspired by a true story.
Set against the backdrop of WWII as Hitler’s influence continued to spread across Europe, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare tells the story of how Sergeant Gus March-Phillipps (Henry Cavill) was recruited into the Special Operations Executive (SOE) — Brittain’s secret espionage outfit specializing in irregular warfare.
But being something of a rule breaker himself, March-Phillipps is exactly the sort of person the SOE would want leading one of its dangerous missions, and the movie’s new trailer gives you a peek at the interesting, unexpected team he pulls together once the government agrees he’s the man for the job. In all of March-Phillipps’ associates — portrayed by Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, and Alex Pettyfer — there’s an unspecified kind of madness that makes them very adept at killing Nazis in imaginative ways. But that madness coupled with the movie’s whimsical sense of action feels like it’ll make The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare a bit of a hit when it debuts in theaters on April 19th.