Since World War II ended in 1945, tons of films have been made about that conflict, which saw Germany under the control of the Nazi Party, attacking and trying to take all of Europe for its own, while also committing the genocide of all Jewish people. After nearly 80 years of content, one would think that there isn't any new stories to tell. However, author Damien Lewis published a book in the 2010's about a secret mission from Prime Minister Winston Churchill that was only declassified within the past decade. Director and co-writer, Guy Ritchie adapts Lewis' book with as much bombast and slickness, as he has many of his recent action thrillers. It's in the vein of Ritchie's Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) and The Gentlemen (2019), so if you enjoyed those films, you'll likely enjoy this one.
Many of the details of this historical fiction are accurate, but, Ritchie of course exaggerates things, particularly the action and turns members of Churchill's secret mission into veritable superheroes. The members are practically DC's Justice League. As such, we're meant to have a rollicking good time with them. The cast infuses each member with either charm, wit or humor. Some are simply action figures, but things move along at a good enough pace that any lack of characterization isn't as bothersome.
Henry Cavill (Justice League and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) stars as Gus March-Phillipps, a Major in the British Army, the leader of Operation Postmaster. Gus was a British Commando, a part of a small scale raiding force whose job was to conduct espionage and sabotage of Nazi-occupied territories. I'm not sure what Lewis learned about the real Major March-Phillipps, but the Gus of this film loves the game of cricket. He loves fancy coats for men, especially long ones. He loves a good liquor and he's not one for always following orders, but he tends to do what's right. He is introduced wearing handcuffs, as if he were under arrest, which was probably due to some previous insubordination, but that was likely invented just for this film.
Going back to the DC's Justice League comparison, Cavill was an actor in Justice League (2017). However, if I had to compare this film to any of those DC Comics adaptations, I'd compare this one to Suicide Squad (2016). In real-life, all of the men of Operation Postmaster seemed like top-notch soldiers who did their duty and were assigned to this special operation, as they were any mission. However, Ritchie's film depicts them as this almost ragtag group or bunch of misfits who had to be cobbled together against the wishes of the government. Or else, it was like Gus assembling them all, much like George Clooney's character in Ocean's Eleven (2001).
Alan Ritchson (Fast X and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) co-stars as Anders Lassen, a Nordic soldier and merchant marine. Ritchson of course bears no resemblance to the real Lassen. Here, Ritchie gives the character of Anders the same treatment as Quentin Tarantino did Eli Roth's character in Inglourious Basterds (2009). Anders is a big, buff guy with an almost bodybuilder physique. He's described as being able to wrestle a bear and has the ability literally to snatch hearts from men. He's also a master archer and is better than Katniss with a bow-and-arrow. Anders is from Sweden and is possibly gay and Ritchson has fun with both those things. He's probably the most fun of everyone here.
The rest of the cast that includes three other men traveling together on boat aren't as fun, as they really don't get that much to do. Henry Golding (The Gentlemen and Crazy Rich Asians) plays Freddy Alvarez. Hero Fiennes Tiffin (The Woman King and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) plays Henry Hayes, and Alex Pettyfer (The Butler and Magic Mike) plays Geoffrey Appleyard. Golding has worked with Guy Ritchie before, but, other than Freddy being an arsonist who sets bombs and having Ritchson's character Anders flirt with him, Golding virtually vanishes. Tiffin's character Henry is a non-entity and Pettyfer's character Geoffrey aka "Apple" gets some moments, including some action, but also feels non-important ultimately.
Operation Postmaster mainly was about Major March-Phillipps leading a small group of men by boat to Fernando Po, an island off the coast of Africa, in order to stop ships there from helping to supply German submarines or U-boats. The German U-boats were instrumental in cutting off British trade and its Navy, so Churchill wanted to stop those U-boats. Watching Gus and his men on the water do this mission is the most exciting part. However, the film keeps cutting away from that cool boat action to some less cool action on land. Babs Olusanmokun (Dune and Wrath of Man) plays Richard Heron, an Afro-British agent who goes undercover as a bar owner in Fernando Po who is there to give aide to the British government. He provides secret intelligence to Gus and his men. He also introduces Gus to Kambili Kalu, played by Danny Sapani (Halo and Penny Dreadful). Kambili is the so-called prince of Fernando Po who is a bit of a pirate and has an army of Black men at his command.
It was interesting to see a World War II story involving Africa, which is a side that often is overlooked. Most WWII films center on the war in Europe or the Pacific theater in Asia. It's rare to see a WWII film set in Africa that isn't something like Casablanca (1942). This film even gives us an African perspective, which is a fresh perspective to some degree. The relationship between Gus and Kambili should have been explored more, but I appreciated what was here. On its face, that relationship reminded me of the relationship between Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim in Guy Ritchie's the Covenant (2023), but I felt more for that relationship because Ritchie gave us more of it. It was a bridge and bond between two cultures and men of two different races that was more emotional than here, but I still appreciated Gus and Kambili in this narrative nonetheless.
Rated R for strong violence and some language.
Running Time: 2 hrs.
In theaters.
