Perhaps the most important thing right away: “Argylle” is of course a huge piece of nonsense. This becomes clear after just a few minutes, when the eponymous agent (Henry Cavill) breaks through the walls of buildings with his buggy and a muscleman (John Cena) plucks his pursuer (Dua Lipa) off the motorcycle at full speed. The camera flies through a CGI-saturated postcard Greece, detached from any gravity. Director Matthew Vaughn seems to whisper from behind the will-o’-the-wisps: “Either you play along or you can pull the leash!” We have no choice but to choose the former.
Just average heroes
By blockbuster standards, the plot of “Argylle” is actually somewhat convoluted. The main character of the film is not the title character, a Bond parody with a crew cut, but Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), author of spy crime novels, wallflower and cat lover. She gets a little too close to reality with her novels and becomes a target for the secret services (led by Bryan Cranston). Agent Aidan (Sam Rockwell) is supposed to protect her and at the same time hopes that Elly’s ingenuity will help stop the conspirators.
The film
For Argy Great Britain, USA 2023 Director: Matthew Vaughn. Book: Jason Fuchs. Starring: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Dua Lipa, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson. 139 minutes. Cinema release: February 1st
Director Vaughn repeatedly jumps between this level of action and the characters from Elly Conway’s book. Argylle jets around the globe, looking for a way to expose the secret service. The realities reflect each other. Vaughn takes the back and forth to the extreme: in the middle of the greatest tumult, Aidan suddenly turns into Argylle – and then back again in the blink of an eye.
This has the interesting side effect that the crazy action scenes involving Elly and Aidan only seem half as crazy compared to the even more crazy action scenes from the novel. The agent and the best-selling author, on the other hand, seem downright average in contrast to the over-the-top, heroic characters in the novel.
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Vaughn has even extended the film-within-a-film mess into our reality. Before the film’s release, an alleged book of the same title was published, written by a debutante named Elly Conway. Vaughn has so far debunked internet rumors that Taylor Swift could be behind it. But he insists on the existence of the actual Conway. In the end credits of the film there is no longer any mention of a template. Jason Fuchs, who co-wrote “Wonder Woman” among other things, is listed as the screenwriter.
Orgies of violence and child-friendly jokes
In any case, you can’t deny Matthew Vaughn’s fun in fabricating stories and causing confusion. In fact, he piles one adventurous twist on top of the next, “Argylle” sets a breakneck pace. Everything runs, knocks and shoots all over the place. For comic relief The reliably wonderful Rockwell and Elly’s cat Alfie, Vaughn’s daughter’s Scottish fold cat, take care of things.
Pop star Dua Lipa plays a killer in “Argylle.”
© universal Pictures
With all the hustle and bustle, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for critics not to call out the taste police. Sure, all of Vaughn’s films ignore any narrative logic and unrestrainedly glorify violence. This time you have to give him credit for avoiding any misogynistic jokes (like the anal sex with the Swedish princess in “Kingsman”).
However, the director doesn’t want to give up on the cynical brutalities. At one point, Aidan instructs the astonished Elly on how best to crush a human head. Despite a body count that could easily be in the three-digit range, the film seems strangely bloodless. Hordes of agents – all men, in fact – are killed with casual one-liners without any blood being splashed. With the no less cynical consequence that “Argylle” has been given an age rating of twelve and over in Germany.
Bestselling author Elly (Bryce Dallas Howard) comes a little too close to reality with her spy novels.
© universal Pictures
Anyone who doesn’t mind the mix of violent orgies and child-friendly humor can at least appreciate Vaughn’s ingenuity. Since “Argylle” is one of those films that works better the less you know about it beforehand, only this much can be revealed at this point: In the last half hour the director includes a shootout as a slow-motion couple dance in pink smoke Skate carnage on oil covered ground below.
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At this point it has long been clear that this excessively long spin cycle of an action film revolves freely around a hollow center. You either leave the cinema with your head buzzing; or better yet: all synapses were temporarily decommissioned before the film. Since Vaughn is now a savvy franchise expert, he already threatens a series of sequels in the credits. It’s hard to believe that Taylor Swift will find the time to write for this.
2024-01-31 17:46:29
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