The standard action genre is all but dead in 2024. This can be partly blamed on the incredible popularity of comic book movies in the 2010s, and partly on the palpably exorbitant demands of the stars of classic action films. Therefore, modern films about explosions, shooting and fights must be about something else to add style, humor and uniqueness. “Argyle” in this sense tries to flirt with metamodernism. In our review we tell you how the movie turned out in the end.
Pros:
bright cast of main characters; dynamic, slightly cartoonish (in a good way) action; incredibly high dynamics of all events, with which you will not get bored; Dua Lipa as an actress
Minuses:
there could definitely be less humor; the plot does not stand up to its own attempts to appear larger than it is; confusion of events on the screen
“Argyll” / Argylle
Genre Action
director Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2024
IMDb website
Writer Ellie Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) works in the genre of spy detective stories. Her books are in demand, but Ellie herself has not gone particularly crazy from fame, because she simply tries not to leave the house again. However, the train journey takes a very unpleasant turn for her when she is attacked by unknown people. Ellie is rescued by special agent Aiden (Sam Rockwell), who draws the writer into the world of espionage intrigue. It turns out that her books get too close to reality, which is better left alone.
There is another subgenre of modern action films that is best described as “Netflix action.” These are expensive and pretentious films with a bright cast. But in reality they turn out to be incredibly nauseating. A striking example is “Red Notice,” starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds. The pleasure is doubtful.
The creators of Argyle had money from Universal Pictures and Apple, and the famous master of dynamic and vibrant films, Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman, Kick-Ass), was responsible for directing. The main roles are full of stars like Henry Cavill and Bryan Cranston. There was even a place for singer Dua Lipa, which for a significant number of viewers will already be a strong argument for watching the film. But still, the movie feels exactly like a “Netflix action”.
The movie starts off really well. The unusual premise and gradual immersion into the local world of spies looks organic, unobtrusive and fun, so what’s there to hide?
This makes the film similar to Kingsman, and there are no secrets here, because ideally the authors of Argyle plan to combine the movie into one universe with Kingsman. It’s especially nice to always look at Bryce Dallas Howard in the frame, who pulls out every scene with her charisma.
“Argyle” doesn’t work at the script level. Local events are created, as it were, solely in order to connect famous stars and jokes of dubious quality into at least some clear chain. But on their own they don’t have much meaning.
The stakes are constantly rising, the importance of the actions of the main characters is emphasized to us, but neither the tone nor the development of the story in any way reinforces that anything can really change for the better or for the worse. An ordinary day in the not-so-ordinary world of spies.
Perhaps the kitschy portrayal of the spies themselves is to blame. Vaughn, as a director, does not betray himself and brings almost cartoon motifs to his live-action works. On the one hand, this definitely adds style points to Argyle. On the other hand, the seriousness of perception is reduced to almost zero because of this.
And here you have to ask yourself a clear question: why do you even watch action films? If you’re just looking for action-packed scenes of familiar faces performing extravagant stunts, Argyle has it all. Yes, the film lacks naturalism a little, and there is a lot of CGI, but it serves an exclusively entertaining role. If you still need a story, then excuse me.
There is a detective line here, but everything in it develops so naturally that it does not cause much tension or delight. The features of the local spy setting are a little banal; we have repeatedly seen more interesting implementations. Even flirtations with metamodernism quickly turn into another reason for jokes about the main character.
And that’s a shame, because it’s easy to see a lot of potential in the film. The film company also saw it, because Argyle was immediately conceived as a trilogy of films. But this potential, if not completely destroyed, then certainly suffers heavily from constant attempts to joke and inept construction of a fictional setting. It is because of them that an expensive and visually beautiful film is perceived as another experiment of streaming services that can be quietly launched on any platform and hope that it will bring in at least some money.
Just how many films have suffered from attempts to inject more inappropriate humor into them deserves its own study. You can blame this on Marvel comics or the death of classic comedies in general. But the fact remains a fact. “Argyle” is another victim of this trend, which should have ended a long time ago, but for some reason it still doesn’t.
Conclusion:
Argyle is a good movie that feels like it has the potential to be a “great movie” or even a “great movie,” but it never quite materializes. In trying to fit into the current standards of action film production, Vaughn and his team destroyed their own vision. And you can blame the modern film industry for this as much as you like, but this doesn’t make the writer’s slightly ridiculous adventures in the world of spies any better.
