ARGYLLE is in theaters this weekend. It is not a bad way to start February which is normally not the greatest month for theater releases. If you are into spies, mystery novels, unseen twists, and a lot of silly antics; this one is for you.
Synopsis: A reclusive author (Bryce Dallas Howard) who writes espionage novels about a secret agent and a global spy syndicate realizes the plot of the new book she’s writing starts to mirror real-world events, in real time.
Elly Conway (Howard) is entering into her fifth book in a series featuring her spy character, Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill). Fans are waiting for the next adventure to see what Argylle will do next. Unknown to Elly her fans are not the only ones waiting to see how the story unfolds. She bumps into Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell) a real spy while she is on a train ride to see her parents. He informs her that her life is in danger and she must trust him to stay alive. But who can she trust?
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (The Kingsman Franchise, X-Men First Class) so you know to expect a lot of over the top characters and fists full of action. Luckily this one is not just a lot of pretty faces. The story is fun and engaging – though a tad long – with twists that keep you guessing more than frustrated.
I admit I was a tad on the skeptic side as the story began. I feel like the “writer thrown into a real life adventure” has been over done. After a few aha moments I realize that I needed to be patient and let Conway and Wilde do their thing. I am a huge fan of Rockwell and this one uses his strengths to an advantage. He is witty and clever. In a film about trust, he is certainly hard to read.
If you like your action adventure a tad tamer than say Kingsmen with less R elements and more PG-13 level dialogue and spy games this will be another box you can check. That means fans of Vaughn wanting brutal violence and expletives galore, you are going to have to be happy with fight scenes that rely more on choreography, and more than one “ok what is going on here” moments.
The star of the show is Bryce Dallas Howard. She has to get us through this film or nothing else matters. I am a fan of Bryce – who isn’t – and we know she can bring emotion and relatability whether running from Dinos (Jurassic World) or a creature in the woods (The Village). Plus tons of memorable roles in between.
Not to say she is out of her element in the fast paced spy world. But maybe a little. Is she believable as a reclusive and brilliant writer? One hundred percent. Fighting it out with gun play and bad guys? That took a lot of forgiveness. But forgiveness that is easy to extend in a character like Elly, plus we love BDH.
I am curious who created the unspoken rule that all films now need to be over two-hours. Spoiler alert. They do not. This one had about twenty or thirty minutes that could easily have been removed with still a lot of good meat on the bone.
This film is certainly theater worthy and a lot of fun to watch on the big screen. Solid cast, thought-out writing, and as expected, expert direction. By all means stay for the credits as there is a mind-blowing clip – I thought only Marvel did that – that you do not want to miss.
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