Argylle Review
Theatrical Movie Review - Apple TV+ - Spy/Thriller
The spy genre isn’t one of my favorites. I often find it overly complicated and self-important, and while I do love some fun gadgets and action set pieces, they often don’t make up for the parts that feel more tedious to me. Nevertheless, I love nearly everyone in the cast of Matthew Vaughn’s new spy romance, “Argylle,” so I decided to give it a watch.
Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the author of the popular spy series, “Argylle.” She is finishing work on her fifth book, but when she connects with her mother (Catherine O’Hara), she says that she doesn’t like the ending that Elly came up with. Elly decides to visit her mother to hash out an end, but while she’s on the train, a stranger who introduces himself as Aiden (Sam Rockwell) explains to Elly that her books are almost prophetic in the way they have played out in the real world. He then tells her that he is a spy and has to save her from the real-life bad guys, including Director Ritter (Bryan Cranston), who are trying to access information that seems to flow from her books.
I largely enjoyed this movie. I found most of the twists to be fun, I loved the chemistry between Howard and Rockwell, and I had a good time with the action set pieces.
The performances in this are over the top, but they served the story that Vaughn and screenwriter Jason Fuchs were telling. The fictional characters played by Henry Cavill and John Cena are in far less of the movie than I would have hoped, especially since their time on screen is so much fun, but I loved what we got. Cranston channeled a cornier version of Walter White that was a riot, and Rockwell and Howard gave one of my favorite dance scenes in recent memory.
As much as I enjoyed the movie, there were some pacing issues. The film is just shy of two and a half hours, and I think it feels its length, particularly in the second act. I found myself checking my watch and being surprised at how much movie was left, so the film could have used some additional editing. Also, be prepared for some not-great CGI, though it almost felt intentional, blurring the real world from the Argylle universe that Elly created in her books. And perhaps to give us a cat that we are absolutely certain will not be injured.
Despite some flaws, I had a lot of fun watching this movie. I appreciated that it didn’t take itself too seriously while having some entertaining and unique action sequences. And heck, maybe I liked it because when we finally got the reveal for the real Agent Argylle, it was a refreshing change for this kind of movie. I’ll forgive some messy storytelling and shoddy CGI for a different take on the classic spy movie.
This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on February 4, 2024.