
We Were Soldiers
2002
During World War II, the British Army assigns a group of competent soldiers to carry out a mission against the Nazi forces behind enemy lines... A true story about a secret British WWII organization — the Special Operations Executive. Founded by Winston Churchill, their irregular warfare against the Germans helped to change the course of the war, and gave birth to modern black operations.
Guy Ritchie
Gus March-Phillips
Anders Lassen
Marjorie Stewart
Brigadier Gubbins 'M'
Freddy Alvarez
Geoffrey Appleyard
3/3/2025
6/10
**_Snazzy WW2 flick about a brazen raid off the coast of West Africa_** Churchill refuses to surrender to Germany and so backs the Special Operations Executive (SOE), which was the precursor to what is today known as black ops. The unorthodox team carry out Operation Postmaster in early 1942, a daring attack on an island near Cameroon to disrupt the Nazis' U-boat resupply operation. Helmed by Guy Ritchie, "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" (2024) is similar in plot to 1968’s “Attack on the Iron Coast,” which covered the St Nazaire Raid on the shore of German-occupied France, a raid that happened to take place 2.5 months after Operation Postmaster. Interestingly, the SOE were considered for heading that raid (in the aftermath of the great success of Operation Postmaster), but the mission was determined to be beyond the capabilities of the small-scale group. While the plot is reminiscent of “Attack on the Iron Coast,” the ‘hip,’ smirky style is along the lines of Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” mixed with bits of “The Dirty Dozen” and “Where Eagles Dare.” If you favor those movies, you’ll probably like this one, but it’s the least of ’em IMHO with the exception of the low-budget “Attack on the Iron Coast,” which was shot in B&W. Don’t get me wrong, this is a top-of-the-line production with a quality cast, including the likes of Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González and Babs Olusanmokun. It just needed a little more human interest to draw me into the characters and care about the manic events. The dynamic score brings to mind Spaghetti Westerns and includes a piece that rips off “Immigrant Song.” It runs 2 hours, 2 minutes, and was shot at Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, and Antalya on the southwest coast of Turkey. GRADE: B-
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