Argylle – Review

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 19 minutes, Director – Matthew Vaughn

Author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) finds herself thrown into a world of rival spies not unlike her novels, when it turns out her hit series, Argylle, has reflected the real world a little too much.

There are three versions of Agent Argylle. There’s the one in author Elly Conway’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) hit spy novel series, a suave and focused figure knowing the best course of action in any moment; then there’s the version which appears in her head (both played by Henry Cavill), an arrogant persona smugly gliding through action self-acknowledging how great a spy he is with just one look. Finally, there’s the real Agent Argylle, the unseen face whose life has been almost exactly documented in Conway’s books. At least the former two of these personalities should perhaps feel much more in sync than they actually do, instead feeling as inconsistent as their author, and pretty much anyone around her.

In early action sequences we cut back and forth from Elly’s views of real spy Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell) and her mind’s view of Argylle. One is an intentionally chaotic and messy set of events to contrast with the other near-bulletproof depiction as Cavill’s spy stares into the camera with a thick air of vanity. Thankfully, this version of the character appears less frequently as the film goes on and Elly and Aidan’s globetrotting venture takes more form. The writer finds herself chased by opposing groups of spies as it’s revealed that her smash-hit series has almost perfectly mirrored events in the real world, and dangerous people (led by Bryan Cranston’s Director Ritter) need to know the next chapter of the as-yet-unwritten fifth book pans out.

Whilst the world of the Argylle books seems to be trying to pastiche Bond the events unfolding in the real world seem to be trying to dismantle this in order to set up a counter without ever quite landing the comedic effect. Instead, action sequences full of shonky CGI (two examples during a chase in the first five minutes had me audibly exclaiming ‘yikes’) play out to the questioning response of whether they’re meant to be funny, largely due to the choice in songs which plays over a number of them, and sometimes what’s incorporated into them – smoke cannisters burst into an array of colours as one fight turns into something of a callback dance scene.

This style dominates the drawn out third act as it tries to keep a spark alive, and push a spark between Rockwell and Dallas Howard who the film seems to want to position as Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, amongst the constant stalls and additions to developments. There’s a great cast here (also including John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Ariana DeBose and Catherine O’Hara, just to name a few), yet none ever seem to bring a proper sense of life to their inconsistent characters. Wavering throughout a lengthy 2-hour-and-19-minute run-time; particularly Elly with whichever reaction seems convenient at the time – her for-comedic-effect panic, heightening Aidan’s in-the-moment espionage skills, clashes with sudden bursts of putting her head down and moving forward as if nothing just happened.

As soon as Conway sends off what’s perhaps the first draft of her literally-just-finished fifth book the praise, admittedly from her mother (O’Hara) is that it’s brilliant as usual. Unfortunately, unlike the Argylle books, the film can’t be given the same praise, even after a number of drafts. The jumble of ideas while generally flowing well enough until the latter stages never feel as if they have the energy or humour to properly engage, one or two more casual moments of amusement aside.

With refining, including less time spent trying to semi jab at conventions while seemingly unaware that it features plenty of them narratively, there could be a more fun film here. However, the smugness sometimes shown in the Argylle of Elly’s mind comes through in the tone of the film, holding it further back amongst the uncertainty of what it wants to be and what it’s poking at. Whether itself or spy capers the landing is an uninteresting series of bumpy falters.

Unsure of what it actually wants to pastiche Argylle is a film full of inconsistencies. The narrative is overlong and lacking in humour, particularly in a crammed third act, and overall everything feels like it could be delivered straight to camera with an air of smugness.