Argylle is an over the top action comedy about a neurotic spy novelist who finds herself at the center of a top secret espionage case. The film is directed by Matthew Vaughn who is known for campy action romps such as Kick-Ass and the Kingsman series. Argylle is somewhat of an adaptation of a novel written under the pseudonym Elly Conway. The novel was later revealed to be co written by Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen, who wrote the book as a companion piece for Vaughn ahead of filming.

The spy thriller follows Agent Argylle as he jetsets across the globe, taking down one evil institution at a time. The now released novel appears within the film, as Bryce Dallas Howard plays Argylle author, Elly Conway. Both the novel and film are set to be franchises within the same shared universe with multiple sequels already in the pipeline. Based on the mid-credits scene, there’s even rumblings about an Argylle movie based more closely on the books, following the early adventures of the young spy. Metatextual and convoluted enough, yet? Just you wait.

Elly is caught in the middle of a global conspiracy as it becomes apparent that her novels accurately report the actions of the sinister organization, the Division. They believe she is in possession of top secret information and seek to capture her before they are revealed to the public. After she finishes the manuscript for her latest novel, Elly takes a train ride to spend the weekend with her parents. While aboard, she meets Aiden Wilde, played by Sam Rockwell, an eccentric agent who warns Elly that she is in grave danger. Elly shrugs this off at first as the deranged ramblings of a man on the train before they receive an onslaught of attacks from the Division’s secret agents.

Aiden easily dispatches them in the film’s first of many exhilarating fight scenes. Often set to disco music, these sequences are shot more like choreographed dances than fights and as a result are endlessly engaging to watch. The stunt actors deserve high praise for their work throughout the film, pulling double duty as dancers and fighters. Elly struggles to cope with the stress and violence of the situation and begins to hallucinate Agent Argylle, played by Henry Cavill, in his place. Aiden rescues Elly, and her cat Alfie, the two escape the train and make their way to London to locate the masterkey, the secret to destroying the Division. 

Howard’s grounded performance as the reluctant hero prevents Argylle from feeling too one note and softens out its brash and in your face attitude. What she is able to do with this character is a testament to her subtlety as a performer. Playing the “straight man” to Rockwell’s goofy agent gives some semblance of reality to Vaughn’s otherwise hyper-stylized world. Having the audience latch onto Elly and learn about the twists and turns of this conspiracy through her eyes is an excellent way to keep the viewers guessing. The pieces of information are paced out well enough that the script regularly rewards the audience with new clues without it ever feeling too much like an exposition dump. Howard’s transformation from anxious writer to competent co-agent is a huge leap to make. Watching Elly slowly learn to trust her own ability and intuition is a compelling character arc and reason enough to continue watching.

Likewise Rockwell delivers some of the funniest lines in the film, giving the audience a much needed release in tension, sometimes even in the middle of a fight scene. Where he really shines though is in Aiden’s budding romance with Elly. It’s certainly not the deepest love story ever told, but Rockwell takes these moments to bring his larger than life character back down to reality. Howard and Rockwell have a surprising amount of on screen chemistry, casting them opposite one another was an excellent decision. Their relationship carries a significant amount of the film’s emotional weight, in contrast to the otherwise light and somewhat superficial storytelling. 

Vaughn creates a captivating universe that is bright, shiny, and loud. The scenes that occur within Elly’s novel take full advantage of this suspension of disbelief. Argylle opens with an over the top car chase through a Greek village. Cavill’s Argylle recklessly pursues a motorcycle driving Dua Lipa into the neighborhood. He crashes through backyards along the way, spinning out, only for his partner John Cena to snatch Dua right off her bike, stopping her in her tracks. The whole scene is ridiculous, but self aware and fun, setting the tone for the rest of the film. Later, when Elly is struggling to finish the last chapter of her book, we get to see her work through the writing process. Cavill switches up his dialogue with the click of the backspace key. “Does he kiss the girl?” “Maybe?” “No, he leaves for London.” These scenes work well because they are tied to a fictional universe within the film itself. However when this style bleeds into the rest of the movie, it becomes a bit exhausting.

 Nothing in Argylle feels particularly real. For a film of its bloated budget, the CGI used throughout from murky oil spills to cotton candy colored smoke, and that unnerving cat with lifeless eyes feels like a cheap afterthought. This is exacerbated by the sheer amount of scenes where actors are performing in front of a green screen, clearly superimposed after the fact. Most films use a combination of these effects to enhance their storytelling, but in a movie where so much of the appeal is based on its artifice, it’s confusing why so much of it looks, well ugly. Additionally, for a film with as much violence as this one, there’s remarkably not a single drop of blood to be found. Likely done in effort to keep a PG-13 rating and I’m not suggesting it would be a better film if it had buckets of blood. But it does add to the overwhelming feeling that none of this is real or matters.

The twists that are revealed during the movie’s runtime are fulfilling narratively, as long as you don’t think about it too much. It’s clearly not intended to be an insightful work of fiction, but the issue lies in how little of it feels consequential. So many characters appear dead, only to miraculously rise a few scenes later. It lowers the emotional stakes knowing that nothing on screen is certain and it is all just in good fun. Don’t take it too seriously. In an effort to create a not so serious spy thriller, Vaughn voids his storytelling of any meaning or significance. This ironic detachment and constant winking to the camera keeps Argylle from emotionally resonating with its audience and the end result is an eye-catching, and amusing film with very little substance.