‘ARGYLLE’: A SPY COMEDY SPOOF OF ITSELF
An Apple original film, Argylle is likely something you will love or hate. I’m not sure if, in the case of this film, there’s an in-between.
Argylle (2024) Apple TV Film Review
Living on the edge and working missions is what Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) does and he does it extremely well. Even at the cost of the ones who trust him including Wyatt (John Cena) and Kiera (Arianna DeBose), the people he works with. When Kiera dies and their mark has knowledge of Argllye’s arrival, questions come to light. Miles and miles from Greece is Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) in Colorado, a woman reading the same story as Argylle’s mission because, well, you see, he isn’t real and is instead a figment of her imagination.
Strange thing is, some of Elly’s work ends up predicting real life.
Elly is a best-selling novelist and something of a recluse whose only companion is her cat. When her mother (Catherine O’Hara) tells her that the end of her latest manuscript needs some work, they make plans to meet up and work on perfecting the book because mom always knows best. As a surprise, Elly decides to take a train (she has a fear of planes), only the stranger she meets throws her entire life into unexpected uproar.
‘ARGYLLE’: A SPY COMEDY SPOOF OF ITSELF. #HenryCavill stars in #MatthewVaughn's spy caper #Argylle. Share on XThe first film, that I know of, I’ve seen from Matthew Vaughn, at its most basic, Argylle is fun. It’s not hard to see why Vaughn produces audience pleasers. A spy flick that is definitely taking cues from some of our favorite films in this genre, we understand why viewers enjoy this movie.
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From Knight and Day to The Bourne Identity and the popular TV show Alias, this is kind of created in homage to those, but it’s also kind of like a spoof even of itself. That is part of what makes this such good fun. The film has all of the normal spy traits like action sequences and “cool” sweeping moments, plus of course, the required evening wear dress up scene. What Argylle does exceptionally well is make some of its action sequences stand out. Some of these sequences are just too good, and like I said, it’s like a spoof of itself and always keep in mind Elly writes spy novels. Which is why I think the latter half of the second act goes silly again. Yes, the film leans into the action and the excitement, but it colors them up so very well.
The cast is brilliant and I enjoyed seeing Bryce Dallas Howard in the lead since I don’t think I’ve seen her in much. It feels like everyone had fun making this and that in turn makes us laugh and enjoy this film, which I thoroughly do. It jumps around across the globe and gives us both excitement and a glimpse of romance, too, plus Alfie is the best thing about this film. Saying this is a good time is perhaps an understatement but it’s all I have. Critically panned by critics, and perhaps not the highest user ratings, I still enjoyed this one.
You can stream Argylle on Apple TV+
Photos: Apple TV
Content: There is a use of the f-word, multiple uses of GD and shit. Lots of violence is likely reason for this PG-13 rating. We see countless people shot, though typically it’s not graphic. We just see the bodies lying on the ground. Some people are stabbed too, but again, we don’t really see it graphically depicted.
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