The 2024 film “Argylle” has dropped and immediately left a lasting impression on audience, with standout stunt work, chaotic plot twists and stylized scenes.
From Matthew Vaughn, the director behind the “Kingsman” franchise, “Argylle” focuses on the story of Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), a widely acclaimed spy novel author.
When Conway meets a spy named Aidan (Sam Rockwell) and learns that her writing can predict what happens in the world around her, Elly is dragged into the world of espionage. In order to survive, Elly must learn how she can use her talents to affect the world around her, and find herself in the process.
Much like his previous works, Vaughn has an eye for action set pieces like no other. This film is no exception and takes a very creative approach to its high stakes, showing what unravels to the fictional character of Argylle (Henry Cavill) and switching to the chaos that surrounds Elly.
The PG-13 film is dynamic, fast paced and intense, all while having the style of spy thrillers reminiscent of James Bond. The stunt work is fun to watch unfold with craziness and exciting choreography, along with a great soundtrack to embellish it.
The “Argylle” cast fires from all cylinders, knowing exactly what kind of film they are in — not a high stakes, serious movie, but a rom-com with a spy aesthetic.
Howard and Rockwell work well together, and their interactions are engaging and full of humor that lands most times. The writing also takes the cliches that we all know and love about classic spy movies and pokes fun at them, which makes for a good chuckle.
Gags like Rockwell making fun of the “gentlemen spy cliche” and Cavill’s haircut land well with audiences. If nothing else, “Argylle” is self-aware of how ridiculous these over-the-top, bombastic scenes are, and leans into that without sacrificing the identity of the movie.
Despite all that unfolds onscreen, the movie is fast, while long, with twists and turns throughout.
While this does make for a very intense and high-octane plot, it can be a little hard for the audience to keep up. These twists are shocking and do add suspense to the film, but having so many spread throughout the movie, with set up, is a little jarring to say the least.
While the twists are set up and explained within the film, the sheer frequency of how the movie moves on from them makes the plot hard to follow. Though it drags the movie down, the tone of the movie does it best to make up for any confusion with the lighthearted humor.
Despite being packed with too many twists and turns at times, “Argylle,” overall, is a good time at the movies, with action on display and the humor of the cast serving as major selling points.
Don’t go into this film expecting to have a high thrills narrative but know that “Argylle” still makes for a fun and wacky story that does a good job of keeping you entertained.
This article was edited by Bailey Hobbs, Sara Winick and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Isabelle Kravis and Charlie Mennuti.
