If you’ve been to a movie theatre in the past few months, odds are very high that you saw the trailer for Argylle. The latest film from director Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, Kick-Ass) has been promoted so much, it’s become meme-worthy, especially the question of “Who is the real agent Argylle?” Well, I’m happy to report the film answers that question in a suitably enjoyable way but, in doing so, gives the audiences so much to chew on, what should be a fun, frivolous roller coaster becomes an uneven slog. Some of it’s good – quite good in fact – but that’s counterbalanced with mountains of exposition and huge tonal shifts that undercut it all.
In Argylle, Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World, The Mandalorian) plays Elly Conway, a celebrated, cat-loving, spy novelist whose books star a fictional super spy named Argylle. Henry Cavill (Man of Steel, The Witcher) plays Argylle in the film’s numerous fantasy scenes, who teams with characters played by John Cena (Blockers) and Ariana DeBose (West Side Story). Elly’s novels are not just popular though, they’re eerily similar to what’s happening in reality, so a real-life spy named Aidan (Galaxy Quest’s Sam Rockwell) must acquire and protect Elly from an evil organisation led by Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) who wants her so they can find out what’s going to happen next.
It sounds a little confusing, to be sure, but Vaughn’s direction and editing, especially in the film’s opening act, easily distinguishes multiple worlds and a beautiful use of transitions ensures everyone is on the same page. He sets a very specific tone too. Argylle’s opening, for example, is a wild, over-the-top chase sequence that suggests the film is going to be more goofy than not. Which, at times, it is. Sometimes hilariously so. But as the film moves along, those moments are few and far between. Argylle becomes less singular and more like a jukebox of the greatest hits. It jumps between the gun-fu of John Wick, the huge stunts of Mission: Impossible, the hyper-reality of Fast and Furious, and the long, drawn-out explanations of… something with long, drawn-out explanations.
That’s because, as you may have discerned, the plot I described above is only the first piece of Argylle’s puzzle, and there are more pieces than you’d ever guess. There’s even a point somewhere in the middle of the movie when action scenes almost get substituted for large, shocking reveals, each of which changes the film completely. Change means clarification though, and the film provides that mostly in a “Tell, don’t Show” way. That can be interesting once or twice but, after a while, you get fed up with the avalanche of information and just wish the movie would pick a lane and stick to it.
What’s even more maddening though is that most of the film’s twists and turns are legitimately surprising and handled incredibly well. Almost too well. You can tell writer Jason Fuchs and the team really, really nailed down how each one of these moments would make sense, down to the tiniest detail. And you know that because Argylle makes sure to go into every one of those details on screen. That kind of clarity would normally be positive and, in the moment, it can be. But when you realise for it to make sense, two characters have to talk at you for five minutes and no one has pulled a gun out or jumped off a train in a while, maybe this isn’t quite working so much in what is ostensibly a action-spy-fi flick.
But then someone does pull out a gun or does jump off a train, oftentimes not who you’d expect, and you sit there, chuckle, and think, “Hey, this isn’t that bad.” That happens even more in the film’s final act, which is so unbelievably over the top in comparison to the rest of the movie it’s at first awkward but then kind of endearing. Argylle is a movie that swings so wildly for the fences that even when it misses, you have to give it some credit.
A movie like that, one that shifts from serious to silly, goes from action to exposition and hits you with twist after twist, shouldn’t work at all. That it does in the slightest is in huge part because every single actor in the movie is just so damned charismatic and fun to watch. Sam Rockwell is basically playing Sam Rockwell, but who can do martial arts and kill people, which is awesome. Bryce Dallas Howard expertly navigates an increasingly difficult role with heart and humour. Cavill’s debonair spy is gloriously tongue-in-cheek, even when nothing else is. Cranston revels in his supervillain role. And then you’ve got the likes of Dua Lipa, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, and a few others showing up here and there. There’s no question that the talent in the film elevates the questionable material.
So which one of them is the real agent Argylle? I’m not going to spoil that. The real question, however, is what movie is the real Argylle? Is it Henry Cavill and John Cena’s fantasy world? Is it Sam Rockwell and Bryce Dallas Howard’s meta-reality? Is the movie supposed to be cheeky? Is it cheeky enough? Is it actually smart? Or is it too smart for its own good? And don’t forget there’s a precious cat in there too! It’s kind of all of those things and more.
Oh! If that wasn’t enough to throw a curveball or six at you, ultimately in the end—after one big, final twist to leave the audience shocked—Vaughn tacks on an end-credit scene that muddles everything you’ve just seen up. The ending first left me excited, then frustrated, and ultimately a little letdown, which is Argylle in a nutshell: a valiant effort filled with good ideas that never quite comes together.
Argylle opens in theaters this weekend.
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