Argylle has been on a lot of people’s most anticipated list ever since the first images were released back in mid-2022. Matthew Vaughn’s directorial ventures generally offer a lot of fun and this sounded like another interesting project for the filmmaker. It is based on the novel of the same name by Elly Conway. Vaughn and writer Jason Fuchs decided to make a fictional version of Conway as their protagonist, and the role was eventually played by Bryce Dallas Howard.
The plot follows Elly Conway, a reclusive author who realizes that the plot of her new spy novel she’s writing mirrors real-world events in real-time. Howard is part of an ensemble cast that also includes Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Ariana DeBose, Dua Lipa and Henry Cavill. The project was planned as a franchise and Vaughn also claimed that it would “redefine the spy genre”. With a cast and crew like that, one would ask, what’s not to like? The whole package just sounded like a lot of fun from a fan’s perspective.
The trailers and the marketing campaign have been seriously misleading the audience about what or who the movie is about. It has resulted in false expectations among the audiences and this will surely lead a lot of moviegoers to leave the theatre on a disappointing note. Let’s just say that if you’re a fan of Sam Rockwell and Bryce Dallas Howard, you’re in for a treat, but if you’re a Henry Cavill or John Cena fan, you might be very pleased with the overall experience.
Henry Cavill is not the lead of the film, but he still turns out to be one of the best parts of the film. His highly talked about haircut does not distract too much from his incredible charm and heavy screen presence. Vaughn brings out the lighter fun side of him in the movie. Howard is the clear lead here and she’s okay. That said, the role that she plays is an incredible role and actresses struggle to find such strong commercial roles in today’s time. Sam Rockwell is by far the standout when it comes to the performances. He gets to do a lot of cool action and his humor generally lands well.
Catherine O’Hara gets a surprisingly interesting role and so does Bryan Cranston. Dua Lipa looks gorgeous but doesn’t exactly set the screen on fire with her performance. But it has to be said that her role didn’t necessarily help her to do that. John Cena, Ariana DeBose and Samuel L. Jackson are frustratingly wasted. There are also a few small cameos sprinkled in there as surprise packages for the viewer. All the actors look amazing, the credit for which goes to the costume department. They all certainly have very eye-catching looks throughout the movie.
Jason Fuchs, the writer of the movie had a lot of interesting ideas to work with and he does get a lot of them right to his credit. But the script is still very weak in a lot of areas. The tonal inconsistencies are very apparent and feel ignorant of the writing team. It goes from spy-thriller to action-comedy to romance to adventure and just constantly loses focus of what kind of movie it wants to be. It just ends up being a messy mashup with a little bit of everything, but somehow it all never comes together.
The incohesive Script could be forgivable if you can turn off your brain and just enjoy the product for what it is. But the movie also feels very slow in parts and absolutely does not justify its 140-minute runtime. Add on to that some of the humor doesn’t land well and the tone is way too silly. The ridiculousness is highly distracting and Vaughn regularly delivers crazy sequences that don’t work for the most part. The lead pair also doesn’t necessarily have great chemistry. If I watch the movie more closely I’m pretty sure that some of the twists would not make complete sense either.
Argylle tries too hard to reinvent spy capers and gets lost in its own ambition. It has some grand ideas but a very ordinary execution. It takes you on a bumpy rollercoaster lined with twists and outlandish moments that struggle to entertain consistently. There is fun to be had with the charming performances and decent humor for those who are looking for a light & silly watch. Matthew Vaughn goes way overboard and delivers one of his weakest movies. The ending and the mid-credit scene set up promising things that could lead to exciting things in this universe.
Argylle releases in cinemas on February 2.
