The Obsessive Viewer

• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Writer: Jason Fuchs
• Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Bryan Cranston, Sofia Boutella, with Ariana DeBose and Catherine O’Hara and Samuel L. Jackson

Argylle, Matthew Vaughn’s latest espionage centered action film, doesn’t match the heights of his Kingsman franchise and is hampered by a plot that’s not engaging enough to warrant the numerous twists within it. Bryce Dallas Howard stars as homebody reclusive author Elly Conway whose popular spy novels (based around a spy named Argylle) are a massive hit. She’s just completed book five of the series when real life spy Aidan (Sam Rockwell) approaches her on a train and saves her from a swarm of spies out to get her. It turns out her novels tend to predict events in the espionage world and now she’s on the radar of a nefarious organization seeking her next chapter.

The mystery surrounding the espionage itself gets slightly convoluted as the film gives way to multiple unexpected plot turns. Twists designed as jaw dropping revelations and occurrences don’t carry quite as much weight because the “reclusive author thrust into espionage” storyline by itself isn’t that interesting. Bryce Dallas Howard is charming and believable in her fish out of water role, but it’s the type of plot that’s been done to death and aside from Elly having visions of her fictional Argylle spy (Henry Cavill) the movie doesn’t really offer much of anything new on that front. And when the plot expands later in the film, it takes turns into even more derivative spy territory.

To its credit, Argylle does retain some of Vaughn’s signature stylistic action. The action and stakes are smaller in scale than that of the Kingsman films with a lot of visual effects that look particularly bad (presumably thanks in part to the COVID pandemic). Each sequence is scored by needle drops, none of which come close to the glory of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird in the first Kingsman, but the energy Sam Rockwell brings to the set pieces makes for some memorable sequences. A gunfight in a narrow hallway that utilizes colorful smoke grenades late in the film is of particular note as it weaves in and out of slow motion with some cheeky smoke designs throughout.

Even with a smattering of memorable set pieces, Argylle is noticeably constrained by its PG-13 rating. A goofy yet memorable sequence late in the film is predicated on a character using their skills to dispatch several enemies in an enclosed space using a variety of blades. It’s energetic and weird in a way that only Matthew Vaughn could really sell. Yet the absence of blood to fit the PG-13 rating matched with shoddy visual effects severely detracts from the set piece. In what could have been an off the wall and fun action sequence, we have a strangely watered down version of the kind of action Vaughn has repeatedly proven himself capable of achieving. Henchmen crumble and fall haphazardly on the ground in such a flimsy way amidst choreography and editing that doesn’t seem up to the the task of convincingly cutting away from violence. Instead, the film opts to let the henchmen fall where they may and hope it comes together in the edit.

As for the journey Elly Conway undergoes over the course of the film, there’s unfortunately a bit left to be desired. Her mother (Catherine O’Hara) is overly involved in Elly’s life in a way that compliments Elly’s reclusive traits well. But as the plot spins further and further out of control, the anxiety and closed off nature of Elly is jettisoned. It makes sense in the context of the film but is still disappointing as Bryce Dallas Howard’s shy and reserved performance is the one really endearing aspect of the film’s first act. There’s also a peculiarly forced writing out of Alfie, Elly’s cat featured heavily in the film’s marketing, that feels lazy and contrived. It may also be a feather in the film’s cap though, since the poor CGI rendering of the cat is really distracting at times.

Argylle takes some big swings in its third act but isn’t very successful in landing the emotional moments. It’s a moderately entertaining espionage action movie that is best suited for rainy day streaming service viewing at home as opposed to a trip to the theater in February.

Argylle opens in theaters February 2nd.

About the Writer: Matt Hurt is the creator of ObsessiveViewer.com. He also created, hosts, and produces The Obsessive Viewer, Anthology, and Tower Junkies podcasts. He is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association.