The reviews are in, and critics have blasted Matthew Vaughn’s highly-anticipated spy flick Argylle.
The movie, which has a star-studded cast, including Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, Henry Cavill, and Samuel L. Jackson, and cost Apple Original Films an eye-watering $200M, left many critics unimpressed.
It’s based on a recently published book of the same name, and follows the introverted spy novelist called Elly Conway (played by Howard) who is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate.
The film was dubbed ‘one of the most expensive worst movies ever made’ by Katie Walsh from Tribune News Service, and currently holds a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘One of the most chaotically stupid action movies to torture audiences in ages,’ Barry Hertz from Globe and Mail said of the film.
Critics have blasted Matthew Vaughn’s $200M spy flick Argylle as ‘one of the most expensive worst movies ever made’
Another critic dubbed the film, which stars Dua Lipa and Henry Cavill (pictured) as ‘One of the most chaotically stupid action movies to torture audiences in ages’
‘Its comic touch almost as heavy-handed as its slow-motion-drenched action is dull, it seems primarily designed to answer the question, “How many movie stars can one fiasco squander?”’ Nick Schager of The Daily Beast asked.
‘A talented cast trapped in an endless story with a fake cat,’ Matt Singer from ScreenCrush quipped.
David Fear from Rolling Stone kept his review simple and to the point, writing, ‘Argylle is a bad movie. A very, very bad movie.’
‘It all starts to feel like one of those very expensive, very elaborate commercials for a pseudo-luxury product you don’t want to buy — a perfume perhaps, or some car,’ wrote Leslie Felperin from the Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile Carla Hay from Culture Mix called the movie, ‘An incoherent, bloated mess filled with stupid plot twists, awful dialogue, and a gimmicky cat that looks fake for most of the movie. Henry Cavill is not the main star. Argylle is mostly Sam Rockwell acting smug and Bryce Dallas Howard acting terrified.’
Many of the critics did praise Bryce’s performance as the film’s saving grace.
‘Though Bryce Dallas Howard is charming, this twist-dependent action-comedy gets tiresome,’ Jordan Hoffman from The Messenger wrote.
‘There is far too much CGI. It goes on for half an hour longer than even the most tolerant Vaughn fan will allow. And yet. Howard is so irrepressibly charming that Argylle proves hard to wholly resist,’ Donald Clarke from the Irish Times wrote.
Sam Rockwell and Bryan Cranston also received praise for their roles.
‘How many movie stars can one fiasco squander?’ Nick Schager of The Daily Beast asked of the film, which has a star-studded cast
The movie currently holds a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; Samuel L. Jackson seen in a still
Many critics did praise Bryce Howard Dallas’ performance as the film’s saving grace, calling her ‘irrepressibly charming’. She plays an author who gets embroiled in a real-life mission
Sam Rockwell and Bryan Cranston also received praise for their roles; Cranston seen in a still
The film, based on an adaptation of a recently published book of the same name by a writer also named Elly Conway, is set for release on February 2
The film stars Cavill as the lead Agent Argylle opposite femme fatale Dua Lipa in her feature length acting debut.
It was first announced in June 2021, with a script adapted from the novel before it was even published.
‘When I read this early draft manuscript I felt it was the most incredible and original spy franchise since Ian Fleming’s books of the 50s. This is going to reinvent the spy genre,’ Vaughn gushed.
There were even rumors that singer Taylor Swift, 34, was the secret novelist behind the book, though Vaughn has since shut that conspiracy down.
Little has been shared about author Elly Conway – whose name is used for Bryce’s character in the film, and has been spelled interchangeably Ellie and Elly in promotional material.
On the Penguin website, Elly’s bio simply reads: ‘She lives in the United States and is currently working on the next installment in the series’. Elly’s Instagram account is empty – she only follows one person – her agent Eric Reid.
The film is set for release on February 2, 2024.