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Operation Mincemeat | Spies, Lies, and a Side of Dry Toast

Writer's picture: Nicolas SchueleNicolas Schuele
3.5
3.5/5

The World War II drama "Operation Mincemeat (2021)" might sound like the name of a bizarre cooking competition, but it's actually a surprisingly engaging slice of historical espionage. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), the film revisits one of the quirkiest Allied operations: tricking the Nazis with a fake corpse carrying bogus invasion plans. Think of it as war by way of a far-fetched Sherlock Holmes episode, save everyone in tweed and very, very serious.


Operation Mincemeat

A Dash of Spycraft and a Pinch of Melodrama


At its core, the film tells the story of a bunch of British intelligence officers sitting in smoky rooms, trying to make a rotting corpse look like a convincing naval officer. If that doesn't scream "thrill ride," nothing does. Yet somehow, the movie works—thanks to Colin Firth, who plays his usual "earnest British guy with unresolved emotional issues" role to perfection. The script handles the balance of the absurdity in the operation versus the gravity in the war with aplomb, sometimes erring by veering toward soap opera territory. A romantic subplot between Firth's character and Kelly Macdonald's Jean Leslie feels more like an awkward office crush than a wartime epic.


Style Points, but Watch the Pacing


Visually, Operation Mincemeat is a feast. The fastidious period details—down to the starched collars and the overuse of the typewriter machines—place viewers in an age when espionage was less Bond and more "let's glue a fake love letter to this dead guy's pocket." But more often than not, the pacing runs like a history lecture: steady, yet hardly nail-biting. For a film about one of the most daring and bizarre operations in military history, it sometimes forgets to lean into the inherent weirdness of the story. More bizarre banter, fewer long stares at war maps, please.


The Cast: Brits Doing Their Brit Thing


The cast is undeniably strong. Firth anchors the film with his usual gravitas, while Matthew Macfadyen shines as the slightly snarky foil. Jason Isaacs shows up as well, and is suitably authoritative, though one can't help but want him to go full Lucius Malfoy and summon some additional flair. And then there's Johnny Flynn's performance as Ian Fleming-yes, that Ian Fleming-a figure who feels less like a real character than a winking Easter egg. It's nonetheless hard not to enjoy playing "spot the Bond reference" while he's onscreen. Kelly Macdonald brings warmth and quiet resilience to Jean Leslie, though her character often feels underutilized in the film’s broader narrative.


Dry British Wit Meets Historic Drama


The humor is delightfully understated in Operation Mincemeat; at times, even a bit too dry for its own good. The film truly works when it leans into the absurdity-like debating if a corpse's love of trout fishing will convince the Nazis. But for every sharp exchange, there's a scene that slogs through with clunky, heavy-handed dialogue about duty and sacrifice. It's as if the movie can't decide whether it wants to be a taut spy thriller or a stiff-upper-lip character study.


Worth the Watch, Warts and All


Operation Mincemeat is a charming, at times clunky, mix of historical intrigue and British reserve. It stumbles a bit in pacing and indulges a bit too much in subplots, but the sharp performances and the fascinating true-life story behind it make it worth a watch. Just don't expect edge-of-your-seat thrills-it's more "tea and biscuits" than "explosions and car chases." It's ultimately an entertaining look at one of history's strangest wartime plots.


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