2.5/5 stars
Argylle is so meta that it hurts. The film throws thriller writer Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) into a real-life espionage conspiracy that is somehow based on her fictional characters. Her two worlds collide in a story that piles reversals on top of reversals.
Jason Fuchs’ screenplay may be complex, but it is not especially original. Movies love confounding authors by bringing their characters to life, usually to teach lessons about appreciating the “real world”; an actual Argylle novel has been published, although the book has only tangential connections to the movie.
One interesting twist here is that Elly relates so much to Argylle that she turns to him for advice, even in the midst of shoot-outs and car chases. And the agent will often interrupt his scenes to complain to her about his dialogue.
Elly and Aidan go from Colorado in the United States to London, the south of France and a palace on the Arabian peninsula. At each stop, they gather clues and shoot their way out of traps, then move on to the next cliffhanger.
Detailing more of the plot means giving away its twists, which is really all Argylle has going for it. Despite careful engineering, the double crosses and betrayals are too often predictable – maybe because they are based on genre clichés.
The cast includes old and new faces. Bryan Cranston plays the head of an elite espionage agency, Catherine O’Hara is an overprotective mum, and World Wrestling Entertainment champion John Cena is an improbable computer expert.
Some old friends from earlier Vaughn films pop up, like Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a self-professed “very cool cat”, and Sofia Boutella as a “keeper of secrets”.
Both singers make outstanding contributions to the soundtrack. In fact, the best elements of Argylle may be its jukebox of pounding dance anthems, notably “Electric Energy”.
It has been over 20 years since Vaughn helped usher in an entire generation of action stars in films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (which he produced) and Layer Cake. By comparison Argylle feels glossy and overblown, and watching it a way to pass time.
