The latest Guy Ritchie flick “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” has a spine of true story to it, even if it does all it can to amplify a long-declassified World War II tale with enough dead Nazis to make “Inglourious Basterds” blush.
The result is a jauntily entertaining film but also an awkward fusion. Ritchie’s film, which opens in theaters Friday, takes the increasingly prolific director’s fondness for swaggering, exploitation-style ultraviolence and applies it to a real-life stealth mission that would have been thrilling enough if it had been told with a little historical accuracy.
In 2016, documents were declassified that detailed Operation Postmaster, during which a small group of British special operatives sailed to the West African island of Fernando Po, then a Spanish colony, in the Gulf of Guinea. Spain was then neutral in the war, which made the Churchill-approved gambit audacious. In January 1942, they snuck into the port and sailed off with several ships — including the Italian merchant vessel Duchessa d’Aosta — that were potentially being used in Atlantic warfare.
Dominican prosecutors arrest soldier accused of raping a 14
Israel hits Gaza's Rafah; Hamas chief's trip raises truce hopes
Judge declines to delay Trump hush money trial over publicity complaints
Politics updates: Government defends transport plan, Luxon has to fly commercial
'The Full English will never die out!' Greasy spoon fans speak up for the Great British Fry
Taylor Swift's father Scott Swift allegedly punched Sydney paparazzo in face
EDITORIAL: Rules on digital study materials for school use need a review
US blocks ceasefire call with third UN veto in Israel
China's BYD adds new dealership in Tokyo
Prime Minister's Auckland office vandalised for third time in six months
Croatia's top court rules President Milanović cannot be prime minister because of campaign
PM Christopher Luxon defends David Seymour over TVNZ criticisms