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Matthew Vaughn is a visionary director who has contributed immensely to the superhero film genre. X-Men: First Class reinvigorated the franchise, and Kick-Ass is easily one of the best superhero movies of all time. However, his latest in Argylle fails to live up to those other films. And despite some typical Vaughn-isms, the movie is very disappointing.
Please note that the following Argylle review will be completely spoiler-free.
Argylle Is Another Spy Thriller From Matthew Vaughn
Vaughn is also responsible for The Kingsman movies. The first film in that spy universe launched the career of Taron Egerton, who has gone on to become one of the most interesting actors in the industry. But Vaughn followed it up with additional Kingsman sequels that were never as good as the original. Vaughn tries something new with Argylle, but despite a fun cinematic experience, the movie is pretty disappointing.
Argylle starts as one of those meta movies where a fiction writer becomes involved in a real-life adventure like the ones she writes about. It’s meant to invoke movies like Romancing The Stone, or the more recent Sandra Bullock movie, The Lost City. However, there’s a big twist in Argylle where it separates itself from those movies. But don’t look to me to spoil what the twist is in this Argylle review.
Argylle Has A Lot Going On, To Its Detriment
Argylle on its own is an enjoyable cinematic experience. Vaughn is good at innovative action, great camera work, amazing cinematography, and effective use of appropriate needle-drop moments. It’s a rip-roaring good time of explosions, humor, and good-looking people doing cool things. But outside of that, the movie doesn’t offer much else.
The story is engaging enough to keep you hooked for most of the film. The big twist and reveal are interesting, albeit a little convoluted. The third act of the movie is completely unnecessary and loses the audience. Add to this some plot points that get an explanation immediately after we see it. For example: without spoilers— a good supporting character turns bad, and we get an immediate flashback revealing why and how. So audiences can’t even begin to process the twist before any tension from it is defused and we move on to the next unnecessarily complicated plot point. And this happens, a lot!
Argylle Review Is Totally Spoiler-Free
Argylle has a stacked cast. But I’d be remiss in this Argylle review if I didn’t point out, that many of them, do absolutely nothing. The main leads of the movie are Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell. And this is the thing that makes Argylle engaging and keeps you interested; it’s all Howard. Howard is the gem in Argylle that makes you want to keep watching. She is charming, effortless, and the heart of the movie. And when she is with Rockwell, it’s dynamite!
While the pairing is good, Rockwell feels like he’s phoning it in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun seeing Rockwell do typical leading man things smashing through a floor and taking out bad guys in one fell swoop. But in the quieter moments, Rockwell’s performance seems… disconnected from anything going on. When they’re together, Howard feels like she’s in the moment, whereas Rockwell feels like he wants to leave. The chase scenes and action sequences with Rockwell and Howard are a lot of fun, but without major stakes, it feels like they’re just going through the motions in the story. And that’s where the movie loses me completely.
A Movie With No Stakes Gives Audiences Nothing To Care About
Ultimately, all these problems wouldn’t be as big of an issue if the main story of the movie had a point. If the emotional arc and journey of the protagonist convey some sense of danger or risk. If the main plot was big enough to rationalize all the craziness that precedes it. Or had consequences that felt enough important enough for us to care. But ultimately, none of those things happen in Argylle.
The MacGuffin that drives most of the plot, and the subsequent consequences of it, are so inside-baseball, specific to this world of spies that it’s difficult for audiences outside of it to care about it. And there are so many plot twists, happening so often, that even after everything has a resolution, we’re left with a sense of wondering if this is even real to begin with. The convoluted plot is the movie’s downfall.
Argylle is fun enough to watch in theatres. The grand spectacle of Vaughn’s stylized action sequences is a lot of fun to watch on the big screen. Even after its soon-to-be streaming release on Apple TV+, it will be an enjoyable group movie with family or friends. But looking for anything beyond a superficial good time isn’t recommended.
Argylle is now playing in theatres. What did you think of Argylle? Let me know in the comments below. And follow me on X (Twitter) at @theshahshahid for more new movie reviews.
Grade: C
Argylle
When the plots of reclusive author Elly Conway's fictional espionage novels begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by her cat Alfie and Aiden, a cat-allergic spy, Elly races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Conway's fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
Release Date: January 30, 2024
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard , Sam Rockwell , Henry Cavill
