You’ve seen the memes. The ones where Henry Cavill looks like a dapper rogue with a mustache that belongs in a museum, standing next to Alan Ritchson, who is essentially a human mountain with a bow and arrow. If you feel like you missed the memo on when these two absolute units teamed up, you’re not alone.
The movie is called The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It’s a mouthful. Honestly, it sounds like a spin-off of a Harry Potter book, but it’s actually a hyper-violent, incredibly stylish WWII heist flick directed by Guy Ritchie.
It hit theaters in April 2024 and, weirdly, kinda vanished from the cultural conversation for a minute before exploding on streaming services like Starz and Prime Video in late 2025 and early 2026. If you’re looking for a serious, gritty historical drama, this isn’t it. This is "himbos vs. Nazis," and it is glorious.
Why the Henry Cavill Alan Ritchson movie is basically a real-life superhero team-up
There is something inherently funny about putting Superman and Reacher in the same frame. They make everyone else look like they’re rendered in a lower resolution. In this film, Cavill plays Gus March-Phillipps, a real-life soldier who—get this—was actually one of the primary inspirations for James Bond.
Ian Fleming, the guy who wrote the Bond books, is even a character in the movie. He’s played by Freddie Fox, watching the chaos from a desk while Cavill does exactly what we’ve always wanted him to do: play a version of 007 who doesn't mind getting his hands dirty.
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Then there’s Alan Ritchson.
Ritchson plays Anders Lassen, a Danish commando who was a literal legend in the British Special Forces. Most people know Ritchson from Reacher, where he’s stoic and massive. Here? He’s massive, but he’s also having the time of his life. He plays Lassen with this terrifying, chipper energy. He uses a longbow to pin Nazis to walls and, in one particularly wild (and totally improvised) scene, he literally rips a guy's heart out.
Ritchson actually did his homework on this. He reportedly read four books on the real Anders Lassen to capture the man’s intense hatred for the Nazi regime. It shows. Their "bromance" is the engine that keeps the movie running when the plot gets a little thin.
The True Story Behind the "Ungentlemanly" Chaos
Despite the movie feeling like a comic book, it’s actually based on a real mission called Operation Postmaster. Back in 1942, things weren't looking great for the Allies. German U-boats were sinking supply ships in the Atlantic, and Churchill needed a way to stop them without technically breaking international law (since they were operating in neutral Spanish waters).
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Enter the "Special Operations Executive."
The real Gus March-Phillipps and his team sailed a humble-looking fishing trawler called the Maid of Honor into the harbor of Fernando Po. Their goal wasn't to blow things up—that’s a Guy Ritchie addition for the sake of explosions—but to literally steal the Italian and German supply ships.
And they did it.
The real-life mission was executed with such precision that they didn’t fire a single shot. The movie, however, fires several thousand. Ritchie trades the stealth of the real mission for his signature "kinetic energy." It’s basically Inglourious Basterds meets Ocean's Eleven.
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The Weird Box Office Failure and Streaming Resurrection
If you’re wondering why you didn't hear about this in 2024, it’s probably because the movie was a bit of a financial disaster at first. Lionsgate spent about $60 million making it, but it only clawed back roughly $30 million at the box office.
Critics were split. Some loved the "murderous himbo" energy, while others felt the script lacked the "verbal crackle" of Ritchie's earlier hits like Snatch.
But here’s the thing: audiences didn't care about the script's depth. They wanted to see Cavill smirk and Ritchson smash things. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critic score sits at a respectable 68%, but the audience score? A massive 91%.
By the time 2026 rolled around, the film became a staple on streaming charts. It turns out that a movie about beautiful people dismantling a fascist regime is exactly what people want to watch on a Friday night from their couch. It's the ultimate "comfort action" movie.
What to know before you watch
- Director: Guy Ritchie (bringing his usual fast cuts and jazz-infused soundtracks).
- The Cast: Beyond the big two, you’ve got Eiza González playing a Jewish SOE agent who is basically a one-woman army, and Henry Golding, who is surprisingly great as an explosives expert.
- The Tone: It’s an R-rated action comedy. Expect blood. Lots of it.
- Accuracy: It’s "historical fiction" with a very heavy emphasis on the fiction. Use it as a jumping-off point to read Damien Lewis's book, Churchill's Secret Warriors, if you want the real facts.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you've finished the movie and you’re craving more of this specific brand of "muscular action," here is what you should do next:
- Watch The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015): This was Cavill’s first outing with Guy Ritchie. It’s a 1960s spy romp that is arguably more stylish than Ungentlemanly Warfare and explains why Ritchie and Cavill work so well together.
- Look for "In the Grey": This is the next collaboration between Henry Cavill and Guy Ritchie (also starring Eiza González and Jake Gyllenhaal). It’s scheduled for a 2025/2026 release and promises more of that high-octane ensemble energy.
- Read the Real History: Pick up Churchill's Secret Warriors by Damien Lewis. The real-life Anders Lassen was the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the Victoria Cross in WWII, and his actual story is arguably more insane than anything Ritchson does on screen.
- Check Starz/Prime: Depending on where you live, the movie is likely sitting in the "Top 10" right now. If you're in the US, Starz is your best bet; internationally, it's almost certainly on Prime Video.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare isn't going to win any Oscars for "Best Screenplay," but it doesn't have to. It’s a masterclass in screen presence. Seeing Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson together is like watching a lightning storm—you don't really need a complex plot when the visuals are that loud.