Argylle – Review
In the grand tradition of the classic Romancing the Stone and the recent The Lost City, Argylle is a fish-out-of-water, spy-based action-adventure movie.
First, let me just say that it’s nice to see Bryce Dallas Howard back in front of the camera after all her recent stints behind it. She’s got a great energy onscreen that is contagious.
Second, when you pair BDH’s quasi-naive energy with Sam Rockwell’s near manic energy and physicality (along with director Matthew Vaughn’s definitely manic visual style), you should find yourself having a hell of a good time.
Argylle
139 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Jason Fuchs
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below., read Ryan’s review HERE, and listen or watch using the links at the end of this write-up. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
A reclusive author who writes espionage novels about a secret agent and a global spy syndicate realizes the plot of the new book she’s writing starts to mirror real-world events, in real time.
In Argylle, we get both, wrapped up in the aforementioned spy movie.
The filmmakers are stressing not to spoil the surprise, so I’ll be a little sparse with details, but the jist of the film is this:
Elly Conway (BDH) is a successful ex-waitress-turned author of the “Argylle” spy novel series, but as she’s travelling to visit her parents as she tries to finish the much-awaited fifth book and has encountered writer’s block. On the train into the city from her isolated home, she suddenly finds herself in the midst of a fight between opposing spies, finally being rescued by Aiden (Rockwell), who seems to be on her side from the beginning.
Learning that her novels haven’t just been commercially successful, but have actually seemed to predict various events relevant to the worldwide spy community. Being told one particular organization wants to find her to get her write what happens next, Elly gamely attempts to conclude Book 5 with Aiden’s help and finds herself in the middle of gunfights, brawls, and stunts enough to cause severe anxiety attacks, lol.
Anxiety attacks that take the form of hallucinations featuring her very own Agent Argylle, played brilliantly by Henry Cavill as the embodiment of spy novel tropes and cliches at every turn, while also serving as Elly’s inner voice and conscience, urging her on and supporting her through all her travails.
And all this while traveling with Alfie, her Scottish Fold cat in his bubble backpack.
Like all spy thrillers, this comedic take has its twists, and I won’t spoil them for you, but I think they’re earned, even if not unpredictable as the film unfolds in front of you.
Like most of Vaughn’s films, the fight scenes are intense and hyper-stylized, and while BDH didn’t do her own stunts, lol, she handled what she did do with aplomb, and it seemed like she had fun. Rockwell is no stranger to action or physicality, both of which are on display here. His sense of humor is often the catalyst for whatever calamity is about to unfold as well as the means of moving past it successfully.
It is also a reminder of how criminally underused he was by Marvel after his scene-stealing turn as Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.
For Vaughn, Argylle feels more a return to the energy and vibe of the original Kingsman, rather than the later sequels. (I hope that energy returns in the next two Kingsman films.)
Argylle is easy to recommend, as the PG-13 rating keeps the violence level such that it’s more accessible to younger teens (as opposed to Kick-Ass and Kingsman), and the sense of fun that permeates the film is eminently enjoyable for most folks.
At 2 hours and 19 minutes, the film is a tad long, with perhaps an additional edit bringing it closer to a tighter 2-hour run-time, but it is absolutely not OVER-long, which is a good thing in this new era of increasingly lengthy (and undeservedly so) 3-hour films.
Check out Argylle, which hits theaters February 2 and stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, Sofia Boutella, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, and Dua Lipa.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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