Argylle review – By the book spy caper

When it comes to spy flicks, British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service was an exhilarating breath of fresh air when it dropped in 2014. A wildly irreverent send-up of the gritty modernity of the genre, boasting great casting and unforgettable set pieces (would you ever look at Colin Firth the same way again?), it masterfully walked a tight rope between absurdity and bombastic awesomeness. Alas, a subsequent sequel and prequel were both unable to wholly replicate that success. They still boasted Vaughn’s panache for action, but were a lot wobblier in plot, character, and tone. And unfortunately, history has repeated itself with Argylle.

Like a couple of kids in a trench coat, there’s mystery upon mystery stacked atop one another here. One of those mysteries is a literal whodunnit that actually happens off screen, as Vaughn had been publicly claiming that screenwriter Jason Fuchs’ (Wonder Woman) screenplay was inspired by the then-still-unpublished fourth spy novel from author Elly Conway. Here’s the catch though: There had never been any Argylle novels before and Elly Conway is actually the name of Bryce Dallas Howard’s fictional character in this movie, a successful spy novelist who just released the fourth entry in her Argylle franchise about a beefy world-saving secret agent. So what gives here?

As Argylle opened in cinemas this past weekend the meta jig was finally up. The true identity of Elly Conway had been uncovered. You can safely go read all about it, if you want, as it doesn’t spoil anything about the movie. I mention it now though for one valid reason: It’s a far more intriguing and ambitious mystery than the actual plot of this film.

Argylle (that’s the movie, not the book) finds Howard’s Elly as she’s putting the final touches on the manuscript for the much-anticipated fifth book in her franchise, narrated excerpts of which get brought to life on-screen by Henry Cavill as the titular agent with John Cena as his partner, Wyatt. These bits are intentionally cheesy and played up for goofy fun – the man-mountain Cavill, in a brush cut and velvety mandarin jacket, with bulky Cena, in a Magnum P.I.-inspired island getup, are the most non-nondescript spies you’ve ever seen. As over the top as Elly’s narrative creations are though, she soon discovers that they’ve somehow veered far too close to the actual truth and triggered a real secret clandestine organization – run by a scenery-chewing, shotgun-blasting Bryan Cranston – to come after her with maximum force.

Luckily for Elly, self-professed good guy spy Aidan (Sam Rockwell, having an absolute blast) intercepts her before the henchmen, explaining that her writing holds the key to toppling some very bad people. But when fact begins to blend with impossible fiction as Elly starts seeing Cavill’s Argylle kicking butt and talking to her in the real world, things get a bit weird and meta. Is agent Argylle real? Is this all in Elly’s head? How is her writing predicting real world events?

And if you hadn’t told me any different, I would actually have said that the above two paragraphs sound like a really good setup for a memorable, off-the-wall blockbuster. Apple TV and Universal definitely appeared to think so, having forked out a combined $200 million for this production (it drops on Apple TV+ later this year). Except, once that aforementioned metaphorical trenchcoat is ripped away, you’re still just left with a couple of simple kids as Fuch’s screenplay devolves into worn out tropes you’ve seen a dozen times before and goes from silly fun to just silly.

To be fair, Vaughn never stops trying to keep your attention though, staging hugely kinetic action beats with zing, often accompanied by a banging soundtrack (look out for pop star Dua Lipa in an early cameo). Even when the tone of action jarringly swings toward the cartoonish in the third act, the filmmaker is still giving us some incredible choreography. And while the cinematography does feel too CG-driven at times, lending things an unreal quality, I highly appreciated that Vaugn cleanly frames the fisticuffs to show that the bulk of the bone-crunching acrobatics are performed by his game cast themselves instead of stunt doubles.

Rockwell and Howard are also a ton of fun together. He is just an infectious bundle of wry energy, while she brings some needed emotion amidst the frantic chaos as her timid, cat-loving author is thrust into a world of rooftop chases and high-speed train assassinations. Catherina O’Hara as Elly’s concerned mother also acts as a nice foil to it all. Some of the other castings don’t work quite as well though, most notably the addition of a goofy Samuel L. Jackson and a sleepwalking Sofia Boutella. The pair previously worked with Vaugn on Kingsman to much better effect.

And that seems to be the overall story of the day here. Argyle is loud and colourful, propelled along by dynamic action beats and fun leads. It’s not a disaster but it’s also not quite as inventive or as good looking as Vaughn’s previous work, and also squanders its initially great, twisty premise for a been-there-done-that reveal and laughable set pieces. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the film ends on a rather ambitious franchise-building note that it definitely has not earned. And given its hefty price tag and rather paltry box office numbers so far, I mean that literally. Maybe sales for the now-actually-published Argylle book will result in the film’s Apple TV+ debut sometime later this year drawing enough eyeballs to be a success and Vaughn can then continue his presumptuous plans? However, given how this film turned out, I can’t say I’m too excited for more Argylle. Book or film.