Quite a lot to fit in one chapter.
Ellie Conway is an author who lives a rather humble and reclusive existence with her cat. As she is attempting to finish the latest book in her most popular espionage series, Argylle, she gets advice from her mother over the phone that the final chapter needs to have a more definitive ending. As Ellie takes the train to visit her mother, she meets Alfie, who claims to be a fan of her writing. To her shock, Ellie discovers that Alfie is a spy, and he saves her from a group of agents who want to capture her. Elie sees a lot of her fictional character, Argylle, in Alfie and discovers that, along with her books, are more important to Alfie’s mission than she could ever imagine.
Argylle is the latest action-adventure comedy from director Matthew Vaughn, best known for directing the Kingsman series. When one hears the premise of Argylle, it sounds like yet another modern-day version of Romancing the Stone, where an author finds him or herself in a real-life version of their books. Thankfully, unlike 2022’s The Lost City, Argylle is a much more fun experience, thanks to Vaughn’s directing style, with his frantic action and quirky song choices. However, this film is far from perfect.
Like many spy thrillers, the plot of Argylle depends upon big reveals, so it’s hard to describe the story without giving too much away. The film’s credit, it manages to stay interesting, but that also makes the film a bit hard to recommend without giving away important scenes. The multiple plot twists also continue Hollywood’s modern trend of attempting to subvert audience expectations. It works for certain projects, but eventually, the entertainment value becomes relatively minimal, as the plot of the film will become too complicated.
What truly makes Argylle worth seeing is the acting. The film has a great cast, including Bryce Dallas Howard, Catherine O’Hara, Bryan Cranston, Sam Rockwell, and Samuel L. Jackson. Each one of these actors’ respective charms comes across very well in the film, although maybe Jackson’s could have had more screen time. Seeing Bryce Dallas Howard as Ellie trying to figure out the plot using her experience in writing literature is inspired, and Sam Rockwell’s laid-back attitude within action scenes compliments the former well. One thing that can be determined from the film is that it seemed like everyone had fun making it.
While the film is certainly fun in places, it drags in others. There are scenes that are laugh out loud humorous, but they go on for too long. One example is a fight scene that takes place outside the bathroom of a railway car, where Ellie is placed in the bathroom, and the cubicle door keeps opening and closing, revealing bits of the action. This continues for a while, and a slightly trimmed version of this scene would have helped fix the film’s pacing. Again, the plot twists maintain the interesting and fun nature of the film, but they also drag out what should have been a shorter film. In other words, there was no reason for this movie to be almost 2 ½ hours long.
Like, Ellie’s book, maybe this review needs a definitive ending! At the end of the day, while not as great as it could’ve been, Argylle is a relatively fun movie. The acting of the near-perfect cast and Vaughn’s direction help make up for the poor pacing and overly complicated story. If you want something that will truly engage you in a shorter amount of time, you can explore the rumor that Taylor Swift may have had a hand in crafting the story. Nut if you’ve got 2 and a ½ hours to spare, Argylle is not the worst thing you can see in cinemas now. It has a few good laughs and a bit of charm, just don’t expect to have your mind completely blown. Although, if you stay for the end credits, there is an extra scene that will leave you scratching your head.
