Argylle

If someone had told me face-to-face that Matthew Vaughn could make a movie that would disappoint me, I would have laughed them off. Well, not anymore. This movie was bad in so many ways. The script was desperately weak, and I can't fathom why Vaughn got involved. Sure, I can see the financial appeal, but did he really think it was worth it? Apparently, he did. Initially, it felt like a rip-off of The Man from Acapulco, and I definitely enjoyed the French version more. As the story unfolded, it took a different direction, which could have been fine if I had actually enjoyed the movie. But between the digital overload and the mostly unconvincing performances (except for Sam Rockwell, who couldn’t save it alone), I just couldn't find the fun. This movie just didn’t work for me. / Lesson learned: If you want to become a secret agent, train a cat. (16/05/2024)

Matthew Vaughn is successfully copying Zack Snyder's creative trajectory. He's not at the finish line yet, but he's getting close. A tiresome, mechanical layering of twists and turns (where no one can be able to tell if the film still makes any sense on any level by halfway through the running time at the latest) wrapped in a sometimes aesthetically repugnant package, complete with humour for first graders in elementary school. Even the acting doesn't work. As a director, Vaughn manages to give drive to at least some of the action scenes here, but far from all of them (e.g. the opening sequence on the train, switching between two actors, struck me as completely disjointed and ultimately annoying). (06/03/2024)

Author Elly Conway discovers that her spy books have more in common with reality than she thought, and that their hero, Argyle, may very well be real. But why does everyone suddenly want to kill her? Matthew Vaughn delivers another homage to spy action movies that is full of ideas and original action sequences, but this time perhaps so wild that it may be beyond tolerable for some. (01/02/2024)

I was expecting something like Kingsman or at least some above-par entertainment from Matthew Vaughn. I’ve liked most of his stuff so far, but this one is crap on all fronts and the more I think about it, the more flaws I find. In fact, the only thing I can fully praise are the technical and visual aspects, which (thankfully) don’t outright piss the viewer off with anything, and the beautiful face of the likeable Bryce Dallas Howard. The rest of the film, however, definitely doesn't make a dent in the world and is a bad attempt at a completely nonsensical mix of genres that initially pretends to be an action spy movie, but gradually shifts into a very dysfunctional comedy plane that makes you smile a few times, but doesn't make you laugh even once, whereupon towards the end it even turns into downright parody (skating on oil, smoke action... ), which made it lose my attention completely. Likewise, the acting aces are pretty clickbait. Henry Cavill literally doesn't even act in the film and is only there for a few seconds, and the other names like Samuel L. Jackson, Dua Lipa and John Cena are all there and don't show up for more than a few shots either. The only thing that I downright enjoyed was the brisk first half and the huge twist, which I have to give credit for a functional moment of surprise, but from then on it all goes downhill and it flounders madly somewhere between trite and boring action and unfunny humour, and when it doesn't know where to go next, the final nail in the coffin comes in the form of the aforementioned "parody of a finale", a great example of how things should not be done. The disappointment I feel is huge because I was looking forward to the combo of R-rated action and Kingsman-style humor, but here I have nothing to value at all. (01/02/2024)

A surprisingly uneven film that sometimes has reprehensibly little and other times too much. Bryce Dallas Howard doesn't seem believable in almost any mood (and she alternates several), while Sam Rockwell is believable as a spy who could keep up with Ethan Hunt. Matthew Vaughn tries very hard to entertain and dazzle, but the end result is almost boring, saved only with a grand finale set to the sound of a perfect symphonic version of “Now and Then”. And the ending? I was so confused I wanted to put on Tenet to calm myself. (18/02/2024)