The release of Matthew Vaughn’s espionage and comedy movie, “Argylle,” has gained relatively little attention in media and press. With a superstar cast including pop singer Dua Lipa and “Superman” actor Henry Cavill, one could have predicted a highly successful movie in both box-office turnout and viewer scores alike.
The few reviews that pop up with a quick Google search hail the movie as one with an “overlong runtime” and “convoluted plot” – according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Though likely in the minority, I enjoyed “Argylle” and did not regret the $12 or so I spent on the ticket. I was entertained for the duration and enjoyed my fair share of chuckles throughout the two-hour movie.
The opening scene caused concern for me, as the movie starts with Argylle (Cavill) and LaGrange (Lipa) enacting a classic spy movie scene: a sharply dressed man in a club dancing with a woman who is actually an enemy spy. A high-speed chase through the streets of Greece ensued, ending with the “bad guy” captured and the two “good guys’” casually sipping coffee in a cafe. The whole scene was just too much of a stereotypical spy movie for my taste.
Quickly, the movie transitions into the life of quirky and outcast novelist Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), the author of the book series as she details Argylle’s life. She is plagued with writer’s block and, in an attempt to de-stress, takes a train trip with her beloved cat Alfie to her parents’ house.
From the train, Conway’s trip is derailed as she runs into real-life spy Aiden (Sam Rockwell) who convinces her that she knows secrets that both he and the enemy spy agency need to know, propelling the story into a goofy, action-packed espionage romcom.
Though I found the film mostly an enjoyable experience, it is not without its faults. Cavill brought a sort of two-dimensional element to the movie that does not play off of the otherwise vibrant tone. Though the actor only appeared in slightly confusing flashes, supposedly being imagined by Conway, the acting on Cavill’s part seemed stale and bored.
There were many scenes throughout the story that were awkward at best, cringey at most; it is unclear whether this was intentional. Maybe the awkwardness of the scenes was supposed to be a reflection of the intense social anxiety that Howard’s character feels, or perhaps it is a result of some bigger scene-writing issues that the audience is not privy to.
Not all scenes that were “silly” were necessarily bad, though. Near the end of the movie, about the time that viewers might have been prone to nodding off in their theater seats, there are a few scenes that caught my attention.
The most notable scene included a musical number in which the newly romantically involved Elly and Aiden donned hazmat suits and break out of the enemy agency’s headquarters using toxic gasses. The two romantically dance with each other while knocking their opposers unconscious. This scene was unserious and fun, and I have no complaints about its inclusion in the movie.
“Argylle” is by no means a masterpiece or a film that will be studied in 50 years. But, if one is looking for a cheesy and fun spy movie, it is definitely up that alley.
