We start “Argylle” in the mind of super author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) known for her spy stories featuring superspy Argylle (Henry Cavill, pulling off a Nehru jacket and crazy hairstyle in a way that actually makes it look good) and his team, including bruiser sidekick Wyatt (an underused John Cena) and hacker sidekick Kiera (an equally underused Ariana DuBose). The action packed scene with the team tracking down an unbelievable gorgeous bad girl (Dua Lipa, making me suddenly want to listen to her music no matter what kind of musician she is) turns out to be a reading of Elly’s latest book. Elly’s Argylle books are a smashing success, but she’s having trouble finishing her next book. Things get even crazier when events in her books start happening in real life. On a train to meet her mother, Elly encounters Aidan (Sam Rockwell) a real life spy assigned to protect her from a shadowy organization that wants her dead. What follows is an action filled romp in which every five minutes a revelation occurs that stands the whole film on it’s head.
To tell you anything more would ruin the many surprises found in Jason Fuchs’ script. The twists and turns is where “Argylle” really shines, creating a story that takes elements from other movies like “True Lies,” “Total Recall” and even “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and creates a fairly original-feeling story. There’s a reason why Elly is such a prolific writer and all of her spycraft seems to be spot on and finding out the whys of the whole thing is one of the film’s greatest pleasures.
The performances are all quite good, with Howard doing a convincing job as a reluctant heroine. She’s quite convincing as a woman whose greatest adventures take place in her own head, yet the film does a good job of making Elly more than just a reactive wallflower. Elly believably contributes to the mission even as she’s aghast at the real-world violence taking place around her. She’s matched by Rockwell as Aiden, Elly’s protector. Rockwell’s casual line delivery is the film’s comic highlight as he matter-of-factly describes the horrifying things he and Elly need to do to survive. He also has a great deal of chemistry with Howard and they make an appealing onscreen couple.
Other performers make their mark as well. Cavill once again proves what a great James Bond he’d make as the effortless suave Argylle. His role is more important than what’s shown in the trailers, but the mystery of who and what he actually is is something best left to the viewer. Bryan Cranston delivers an amusingly evil performance as Ritter, the director of the clandestine organization after Elly. Also very good is Catherine O’Hara as Elly’s somewhat meddling but always loving mother. Her character arc is one of the most fun in the movie and allows O’Hara to really show off her range. And the always reliable Samuel L. Jackson is on hand to provide his unique brand of Samuel L. Jackson-ness as Alfie, an off the grid superspy tasked with helping Aiden and Elly accomplish their mission.
So let’s see: we’ve got a script full of twists and turns, some really great performances, and some action-packed sequences. . .so what’s not to love? Interestingly enough, Vaughn’s directoral style is almost too energetic and too over-the-top to give the narrative any real substance. There are some sequences that work (the ice-skating on oil knife sequence comes to mind) but some that don’t (the killer duet with Elly, Aiden, lots of colored smoke, and about a million nameless bad guys comes to mind). There is also an artificiality to the production that I think might have been intentional, but was distracting as hell. The parachute sequence toward the beginning of the film looks like a cut and paste job on a kid’s computer. The effect of some of these scenes is a forcible reminder that you are watching a movie rather than experiencing a story. It doesn’t kill the whole film, but these distractions keep the viewer at something of a distance from an engagement standpoint.
That said, “Argylle” is still a fun watch, primarily because Rockwell is such a joy to watch in his element. He’s really having fun here and that joy is infectious. The plot twists are fun and Howard is a surprisingly capable action hero. And O’Hara practically steals every scent she’s in. Those facets alone along with some creative setpieces make “Argylle” an entertaining, if a bit slight, spy thriller. 3 1/2 Out Of 5 on Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!
