Argylle
Where to Watch: Theaters
Directed By:
Written By:
Starring:
Henry Cavill, Daniel Singh, Dua Lipa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell
Genre:
Action, Thriller
Rated PG-13
All media courtesy of Universal Pictures
Spy thrillers were revitalized by director Matthew Vaughn with Kingsman: The Secret Service. I consider it one of the best spy films ever made, due to subverting the genre expectations and bringing in fresh and bold new ideas. Argylle comes from our Kingsman director, but what benefitted Kingsman has been left out of this film that leans more on the absurd than ever, and not always for the better.
If you are hoping to see a lot of similar things to what may be the poster or trailer teases, you may be disappointed namely in the lack of Henry Cavill. What was teased as more of the focus is not in it much, making the true leads Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell. I enjoyed their dynamics and characters. I thought the concept of writing a novel and it comes to life, while being done before in films like Stranger Than Fiction, was executed well here.
The action works, however, the CGI and visuals were often noticeably sub-par to what we’ve seen in other Matthew Vaughn films. That’s not a ding on the VFX team, but more a comment on how live-action truly trumps VFX-reliant sequences, and the true harmony from both some from scaling them to match each other.
Argylle is still a fun time, however, it doesn’t hit in a lot of moments which makes the films a toss-up of whether you’d enjoy it. It may be better as a streaming rental.
See It or Skip It 