Argylle is a generic spy thriller that forgets what makes it unique

Argylle sees Matthew Vaughn back in the spy game after three Kingsman movies, but pre-release buzz has centred around something other than the movie itself.

When the movie was first announced back in June 2021, it was said to be based on a yet-to-be-released novel by first-time author Elly Conway. Mystery continued to shroud exactly who she was, and it was heightened when it was revealed Bryce Dallas Howard was playing Elly Conway in Argylle.

Some Taylor Swift fans even became convinced she was the mysterious author, but Vaughn has since shut that down. Argylle arrives in cinemas with nobody any clearer and Conway's novel released in shops, although in another twist, the movie isn't an adaptation of that book.

It's an intriguing setup for the launch of an original franchise, but the mystery ends up being one of the few things interesting about Argylle. What starts as a unique take on the spy genre ends up being a generic and overlong one.

When we meet Elly Conway (the fictional version, not whoever the real one is) in Argylle, she's a successful author who's struggling with writers' block while attempting to finish the latest book of her Argylle series.

Elly thinks a trip to see her mother (Catherine O'Hara) will solve it, so she hops on a train with her cat Alfie. However, any plans of a family reunion are thwarted by the arrival of real-life spy Aidan (Sam Rockwell), as well as a bunch of people who attempt to kill Elly on the train.

Unsurprisingly, the stressful encounter leads Elly to blur the lines between the real world and her fictional world where Argylle (Henry Cavill) lives. As Elly tries to uncover how her books ended up reflecting real-life events, she attempts to stay one step ahead of the killers with the help of Aidan.

But who can Elly really trust when she can't even tell what's real and what's fiction?

The first Kingsman movie showed that Vaughn could switch up the spy genre and, initially, it seems like he's repeated the trick with Argylle. Its setup allows him to have his spy cake and eat it too as the fictional world is a spy thriller with classic tropes like a femme fatale (Dua Lipa in a cameo), while the real world allows Vaughn to send up the same tropes.

Even the casting of Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell gives the movie a refreshing edge. They're not 'typical' leads for such a globetrotting spy adventure, with the duo proving an engaging contrast to Henry Cavill who gets to send up his constant James Bond links as suave spy Argylle.

In the early train fight, Elly imagines both Aidan and Argylle fighting her corner, the two merging into one another to entertaining effect. This meta approach also freshens up a generic 'follow the clues' scene as Elly gets pulled into the real-life search for a MacGuffin called the "master file".

But then this unique approach just... stops. The first (of several) twists starts Argylle down the route of a more generic spy thriller, before further major revelations solidify that the movie is not really this playful meta approach to the genre anymore.

It robs Argylle of its edge and the story becomes convoluted rather than original. Classic spy tropes like red herrings and disguises are rolled out, but without anything that makes them interesting. And with the movie clocking over two hours' long, you'll be wishing that there was at least one fewer twist to cut down the runtime.

There is the occasional spark even as proceedings drag on. In particular, a late-stage dance fight, soundtracked by Leona Lewis's cover of 'Run', is classic Vaughn; idiosyncratic, visually unique and weirdly emotional for such a ridiculous scene.

Your tolerance of Argylle's action set pieces, choreographed by the late Brad Allan, will depend on your tolerance of Vaughn. All of the filmmaker's tricks are involved, including hyper-kinetic editing and offbeat soundtrack choices, so if you're not usually a fan, nothing here will change that.

Alongside the twists, the set pieces are deployed regularly to keep the attention. Even though the movie is being released first in cinemas, it's more likely to find a better home when it streams on Apple TV+ as a diverting Friday night watch.

But had Argylle stuck to its fun meta spin on the spy genre and kept its own identity, then it could have been so much better.

Argylle is released in UK cinemas on February 1 and in US cinemas on February 2. It will stream later on Apple TV+.

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