Guy Ritchie became famous for his British gangster movies, but his most acclaimed movie is quite outside that genre. Ritchie made his directorial debut with Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, introducing his filmmaking voice, which he further solidified with Snatch. However, he has also proven an ability to branch out into other kinds of movies.

Ritchie moved into blockbusters with the Sherlock Holmes movies, King Arthur, and Aladdin. His move to television with The Gentlemen and MobLand proved he is just as effective a storyteller on the small screen. However, when it comes to Ritchie’s most critically successful movie, it is one that few people expected him to make.

The Covenant Is Guy Ritchie’s Best Movie On Rotten Tomatoes

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant was a surprise foray into a modern war story for Ritchie. Even more surprising, the movie ended up being his most critically acclaimed movie, earning an impressive 82% Rotten Tomatoes score. It ranks above both of Ritchie’s breakout movies, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (75%) and Snatch (74%).

The Covenant stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Sergeant John Kinley​​​​​, an American officer serving in Afghanistan in 2018. When his team is killed, John is saved by the platoon’s Afghan interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim). However, when John learns that Ahmed and his family have been left to fend for themselves, John returns to Afghanistan on a solo mission to help them.

The Covenant is a departure from Ritchie’s usual fare, both with its modern war setting and its lack of British characters. The movie was also a box office flop for Ritchie, despite the strong critical acclaim. Screen Rant’s own review of The Covenant praised the storytelling, action, and the new style from Ritchie:

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is the kind of film that the director’s fans have been waiting to see from him. Full of action sequences and an incredibly moving score to pair, this could be the kind of war drama that audiences have been missing. It’s heavy on the violence and anti-war messaging, and contains a beautiful story about survival, humanity, and doing the right thing even when there are countless obstacles in the way.

Guy Ritchie’s Next War Movie Was A Lot Different From The Covenant

It was a surprise to see Ritchie make a war movie like The Covenant, but it wasn’t long before he dove back into the genre. Just one year after the release of The Covenant, Ritchie directed The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. However, despite both being war movies, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was drastically different from The Covenant.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is loosely based on true events and stars Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson as members of a block-ops team operating behind enemy lines in World War II. The movie was not quite as warmly received by critics as The Covenant, but earned a solid 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Along with the movies depicting two different wars in two different centuries, the tone of The Covenant is far different from that of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Going for something similar to Inglourious Basterds, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is comedic and wild in its depiction of war.

By contrast, The Covenant looks at the real implications of war. It is also a more subtle movie compared to the bombastic fun of Ritchie’s WWII adventure. One of the most emotional scenes in The Covenant is John mourning his team as Ahmed sits silently by, neither man speaking a word to the other.

The Covenant is certainly a more effective movie and a great display of Ritchie’s directing talents. However, looking at The Covenant alongside The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a reminder of Guy Ritchie‘s versatility as a filmmaker.