Another Bond pastiche from Matthew Vaughn, and once again it’s worse than the last one. Here we have what is basically another Kingsman film, but this time it’s made for the wine moms who had found their new favorite film with _The Lost City_. The plot is quite bonkers, it's so dense and the amount of schlocky plot twists indicate that Vaughn’s at least somewhat aware of how tasteless it all is. Sometimes you can still find traces of the cleverness you’d expect from him, but generally it favours being loud and cringe. I understand that he’s targeting a different demographic here than with Kingsman, but the end result is so tame and commercial that it feels more like typical streaming filler (_Red Notice, Ghosted_). Some of the acting is atrocious. Obviously Rockwell puts in the best work, but it doesn’t make up for the stiff performances by Cavill, Howard and Lipa (though she gets a pass for being Dua Lipa). The directing is also noticeably a step down compared to Vaughn’s previous stuff. It doesn’t feel like he put much heart and soul in this, because besides some good stuntwork it looks like shit. There’s just so much plastic sheen (artificial bright lighting, tacky CGI, unnatural compositions and camera movement) that it becomes incredibly ugly to look at. You could pass that off as ‘well it’s meant to be cartoonish’, but I’m not going to make that leap when there’s this little artistry to it. Vaughn needs to stop making these, the whole thing feels predictable and played out.

2.5/10

I'm not so sure whether I've simply forgotten how to have fun with really stupid movies or whether Matthew Vaughn simply can't manage to make his truly dumb movies fun anymore. After 'The King's Man' and now 'Argylle', however, I'm leaning towards the second scenario. Because in the director's new movie, it feels like he's shouting 'Have fun already' in the audience's face the whole time. But you just can't force that to happen.

Vaughn's unique style is still clearly recognizable, but somehow it no longer works as well as in his earlier films. This is particularly evident in the colorful and absurd action sequences in the finale, which are extremely dynamic but still bored me to death. And honestly, the whole cliché of CGI fluids splashing around in action scenes and leaving no trace on the characters' clothes is something I just don't want to see anymore (I'm looking at you, 'Renfield').

The story can't save the movie, either. Apart from a whole series of twists, one of which is stupider than the next, it has nothing to offer. The characters are also weak. On top of that, the runtime is far too long, so I definitely won't ever watch this movie again. Accordingly, I have absolutely no interest in this franchise or the hinted-at crossover.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/argylle-review-a-delightful-surprise-of-campy-entertainment/

"Argylle emerges as a (very) pleasant surprise this new year, blending absurdity with sophistication to create a truly memorable cinematic experience.

Matthew Vaughn's vision, combined with Jason Fuchs' sharp, clever screenplay, provides an entertainment rollercoaster ride that obliterates initial expectations. From unexpected twists and turns to the incredibly charismatic cast, not to mention a third act filled with hilariously unforgettable action set pieces, the complex-made-simple spy story captivates the audience with its campy charm and relentless energy.

It's my first big recommendation of 2024, one you can't afford to miss in theaters!"

Rating: A-

"Elly Conway" (Bryce Dallas Howard) lives in her remote lakeside home writing spy novels that are going down a storm. Her conclusion to the fifth in the series about the eponymous, "007"-style agent perplexes her mother, though. What happens next? Well wait til book six would seem to be the obvious answer, but mom (Catherine O'Hara) insists so "Elly" decides to take train to visit her parents - and that's mistake number one. Onboard she encounters a rather scruffy looking chap "Wilde" (Sam Rockwell) who is reading one of her books. She tries to hide her identity, but when he gets to the fly-leaf then her secret is out. That's soon the least of her worries as she and travelling cat "Alfie" are soon caught up in something straight out of one of her books! She can't fathom why she'd conceivably be the target for any nasty people, but her new found friend soon convinces her that there is someone she has to meet - and pretty quickly she's embroiled in an whole new world of mystery, intrigue and danger! It's a bit of a slow start this film, with a slightly annoying flicking between her real life and those of her characterisations (that's where the "Action Man" style of the sparingly used Henry Cavill appears) but once we establish who is who and what's going on, we are straight into "Man from U.N.C.L.E." territory with loads of rapid-fire escapades that though hardly original, do have some fun twists and turns as we progress to a denouement that is derivative, but still quite enjoyable to watch. The initial concept is quite original and though the execution largely an amalgam of other Matthew Vaughn features, it still works quite well even if it is far too long, with Rockwell clearly having some fun here and the cat remaining largely contained in it's capsule throughout!

It’s disappointing when a film has an intriguing premise but fails to deliver the goods in the end. Such is the case with director Matthew Vaughn’s latest, an action-adventure/comedy about an author of spy novels (Bryce Dallas Howard) who stumbles into a real-life espionage scenario that matches the plot of her latest novel, embroiling her in a web of ever-shifting intrigue with various nefarious parties. The problem here is that the film never quite latches onto a dedicated focus to make the picture work. Some of the comic bits are indeed quite funny, but they frequently get bogged down by a meandering story line that’s trying to follow a more conventional, twist-laden thriller format. It leaves viewers asking, “So what’s it going to be?” There’s also more than a little derivative material thrown in, such as story threads we’ve already seen before in movies like “Romancing the Stone” (1984), “The Long Kiss Goodnight” (1996) and any number of James Bond flicks. While it’s true that this release is intended to be a spoof of these titles (especially in scenes featuring Henry Cavill as a hilariously hammy 007 knock-off), there’s a big difference between paying tribute and playing unrepentant copycat. Then there’s the picture’s excessive length, coming in at a bloated 2:19:00 runtime, far longer than it needs to be, a failing attributable to an often-needlessly complicated plot, one that begins to try audience patience at times, especially in the back half. “Argylle” also features a cute, cuddly cat, Alfie, as a central character (at least in its trailer), but, like the narrative overall, the film doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with the supposedly frisky, fickle feline, an impression far different from what’s conveyed in the picture’s video marketing. All of this is a shame, because this title has both potential and some apparent strengths going for it, such as a fine soundtrack, superbly choreographed action sequences, and an excellent ensemble cast with the likes of Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Ariana DeBose, and a seriously underused Richard E. Grant, not to mention fine turns from Howard and Cavill as alter-egos of one another. This one isn’t nearly as bad as many critics have made it out to be, but it could have been substantially better with some significant retooling and judicious editing. “Argylle” apparently has ambitions to become a new franchise, too, but we’ll have to see if that materializes based on what kind of box office draw it ultimately produces. At this point, though, I think it has its work cut out for it.