The trailers for Argyle missed something when they boasted that the film was "from the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn" (minus the actual twists), but despite the hype, this is the sweetest film Vaughn has ever made. some time. . (Maybe there's a twist here.) That's not to say Vaughn's latest semi-comedic thriller isn't without violence or a few on-screen casualties. Far from it. Dozens, maybe hundreds of faceless characters die brutally. But given that Vaughn has spent the past decade exploring the gritty and sometimes grandiose world of Kingsman , the film, which introduces Bryce Dallas Howard to a real-life espionage plot, has the benefit of being a proper spy novel. Attractive. No matter how many fatal shots or fatal stabbings there are.
Unfortunately, Vaughn manages to squander this valuable advantage by mimicking the James Bond-style overtones of the Bond films without the production value or wit. This sobriety makes it hard to believe the extraordinary success of novelist Ellie Conway (Howard), who has just published her fourth best-selling book about Bond agent Argyll (played onscreen by Henry Cavill in a striking three-cornered hat). On a train ride, she is caught by Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who claims to be the real spy in order to get more information from the other terrifying premonition message and protect her from a group of bad guys who want to do the same. This opening moment is reminiscent of Romancing the Stone , and then Argyle gets a little weird; while Aidan engages in Kingsman-style hand-to-hand combat and a train-car shootout, Ellie continues to see flashes of her creative side. The hero, both Cavill and Rockwell perform similar stunts in the film. Has your creation come to life, is it controlling reality, or is something entirely different going on? It is a concept worthy of Michel Gondry's project that we creatively define or limit our view of the world.
Unfortunately, Vaughn has no such ambitions in mind, even as he piles on the twists and turns and the characters, well, the "characters" may be trashy, but they're definitely established talents, including Bryan Cranston, Kathryn O'Hara. , Ariana Grande. Debose, John Cena, Dua Lipa, and Samuel L. A deadly replay occurs as Ellie and Aidan jump from green screen to green screen; Aidan tells Ellie to try an extremely dangerous stunt, Ellie resists, Aidan insists, and then CGI takes over. a few minutes and creates the impossible. Weightless action.
There's a reason why Turtle Books fantasy action and real-life espionage action look similar, but there's no indication that the similarities have to be based on this visual balance. At times, especially in the latter stages, the film takes on a kind of maniacal grandeur to the point where Von caricatures it like a Kingsman sequel with a Baz Luhrmann twist. More often than not, the film is bogged down by clunky editing (the transition between Cavill and Rockwell is especially harsh when it should be light and funny) and an awkward plot that effortlessly puts the characters in seemingly fake new places. When the plot needs to be built, it starts to drift away from the story.
A relatively light spy picture like this doesn't need to build tension, so it's worth noting that Argyle also largely fails as a drag. Howard and Rockwell make a charming team in the face of the fearless jabs the film tries to throw at them, and Vaughn at least has the good sense to let Rockwell dance. But the script of Jason Fuchs does not give any of the main characters good lines. It's like a long first draft without killing all the darlings. There are other films that Vaughn and Fuchs cite, though, that reveal important (if not entirely plausible) plot twists.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Argyle is that it seems to be Vaughn's love project in his grand espionage adventure. Ahead of the launch of Apple TV+, talk in theaters has white power, eagerly creating new worlds and hinting that they won't be making new episodes after the title. But for an expensive treat, Argyle is surprisingly dull (all colors except gold look dull) and undercooked; The desire comes from the fact that it is done. This potentially wild ride tries to make the eyes of the heart see its own absurdity. Instead, he shrugs his shoulders and adds to the death toll.
