4.5/5
Reviewed April 25, 2024
It’s a Guy Ritchie spy thriller with Tarantino action of “Inglorious Basterds but if it was the trailer and not what we actually got” levels. So I loved it. Great cast, led by Henry Cavill, Cary Elwes, Alan Ritchson, and Eiza Gonzalez as British spies sailing to a remote neutral island off Africa to covertly sabotage a key point of German supply lines for U-Boats, thus making the Atlantic safer for American soldiers to cross over. It’s based on a real agency and real mission, with most of the cast playing actual historical figures and badasses. There’s some real good spycraft and tension and some bonkers action sequences; you can tell studios are watching Reacher, the show, because Alan Ritchson is allowed to just have at it and play wrecking ball.
Not gonna get too into spoilers, but I had a blast with this. Babs Olusanmokun, Henry Golding, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin round out the spy crew and do fine supporting work. Our villain is famed German actor/director Til Schweiger (who was actually a Nazi-killing German in Basterds…), and he’s definitely doing his best Hanz Lanza impression too. Lots of similarities in action and tone at parts.
The soundtrack is fantastic, the cinematography is usual Guy Ritchie goodness, the style is definitely there (more like his recent stuff than his older stuff though, lots of Ruse de Guerre), and the sets are great. Action is interesting as usual in Guy’s films (although the silencer pistols/rifles were hilariously dumb but fun), and a major part of that is Ritchson using a bow and arrow, or his brute force, to just wreck fools.
What’s fun is that this is a real event with real people, just played up to 11. Ian Fleming (James Bond creator) was actually in this secret agency, and the main character Gus March-Phillips (Cavill) was his inspiration for James Bond. So while it’s goofy, you can still see major shades of reality, including British power struggles during the early part of the war. However, it does have a few downsides. It definitely drags a bit in the middle, the extended ending raid is…about 10 minutes too long, and the guy playing Churchill (Rory Kinnear, aka Tanner from James Bond franchise) is just AWFUL as Churchill. Really brought it down every time he was on screen.
Getting Reel with Mr. Sunshine 