Packed in a way that is engaging, Argylle offers a story that felt rather simple. But as you went further and further into it, it became something more than that. You will become more intrigued. Your interest in the movie will be better. It will be anything beyond your expectations. They surprise you with the storytelling, it became soooo interesting halfway through the movie. What started as an 'okay' premise turned into something captivating that got really interesting.
There's a certain appeal we like with the way the story was told. They're good at containing and revealing the surprise elements. They knew how to structure the story. It was exciting knowing that the scriptwriters and directors knew what they're doing. We felt that the script was polished from time to time, tightening loose ends and only when it's ready that they started to greenlight the production.
However, the third act felt... a bit too much. The beginning of the story had this blend of normality and ridiculousness. It was a great combination but the second act came in and it got interesting but slightly replicated the world of Kingsman. But came the third act and it was wayyyy too ridiculous, even more ridiculous than Kingsman I would say. The tone just fell apart there. It became too cartoon-ish, we wondered, 'What happened to all the logics they had established in the beginning?'. If only the beginning was a bit more boisterous in its tone, we could have enjoyed more of the third act.
Another thing that Argylle suffers from is that for a movie this ridiculous, it just doesn't have that much energy to supplement the tone and action portrayed. It became increasingly weirder and ridiculous but the thing is, the energy was flat, if not, increased only mildly. If you felt kinda numb watching the action scenes or you felt that they did everything right but you still felt that something was off or missing, then yeap, it's the energy that's lacking. Kingsman had a vibrant energy and that's what made it a very good film, it jived with the tone of the film. This one, not so much.
Its strong lies in the dynamic of almost every character, particularly the main leads played by Bryce Dallas Howard & Sam Rockwell. These two carried the movie with the support of the whole cast. Bryce and Sam really shined through and through, delivering performances that stay true to what their characters are supposed to suggest to the audience. They are the leads but they don't necessarily have to be charming or elegant. They don't need to be on par with the beauty standards set in Hollywood because their characters just are not meant to be. Personality wise, both of them have different qualities that made their presence strong when together. Their characters really felt out of place to be the leads but it's interesting to have them both put in the situations they're in. Ohhh, and the cat is just sooooo purr-fect.
While a lot of characters are interesting, we indeed have a problem with one character. The character played by Samuel Jackson. His character was very flat for someone who seemed very important. It wasn't fleshed out enough. He barely had any screen time that it won't really affect the story if... he's not thereeee? For a great actor to have a minimal role and did him dirty while other characters have more significance in their presence for the story is kinda like an insult.
Even Dua Lipa has more screen time than him! Or so we thought according to our calculation. This movie markets Dua Lipa as the supporting character but rest assured, she's not. If you guess she's here as a cameo, then you're right. Her acting was okay at best, but she's very pleasing to watch. If only we could get more from her, the movie might have been more fun.
There's a certain cartoon-ish and comical element that comes with the visual effects. But knowing how this movie is going to make us feel and how it's going to look like, the imperfect look just became the right fit for this kind of movie, might even be intentional somehow, that they made the CGI looked exactly the way they appeared to be because it jived with the whole Kingsman-like tone since it's directed by the same guy.
We also need to give credits where it's due to the people who came with the idea and the people who made it happen. The first 45 mins, especially the train scene has superb transitions. It plays with this element a lot and we could see they had so much fun shooting the scenes. The transitions were hard to do but it was smooth. It's something that amplified its entertainment value and we love it.
While the story is packaged and told in a fascinating way, we are not eager to head to the theater for a second viewing. In our opinion, this movie doesn't have the rewatchability factor. It doesn't have the elements to hook us in for a repeat. Action is great but not 'wow' enough. Comedy is there but was pretty bland. There just wasn't anything visually memorable that would want us or we're guessing, most audience for a repeated viewing. The only reason to go again if you'd like to spot all the tiny little details that happened and analyze it better in case you overlooked it during your first viewing. Our advice is, focus on all the little hints this movie is giving you because it is important for the story.
Verdict: What Argylle masters is in its art of crafting its storytelling filled with surprising moments alongside its colourful character dynamics. This Kingsman-like world reflects on and subtly criticizes past action movies tropes in an engaging, somewhat meta manner. Where Argylle lacks is the absurd finale, weak energy and the zilch interest of rewatching it again. But then, Matthew Vaughn again created a world so unique we cannot overlook the fact that this is the most original of a film we can get in 2024.
There's a certain appeal we like with the way the story was told. They're good at containing and revealing the surprise elements. They knew how to structure the story. It was exciting knowing that the scriptwriters and directors knew what they're doing. We felt that the script was polished from time to time, tightening loose ends and only when it's ready that they started to greenlight the production.
However, the third act felt... a bit too much. The beginning of the story had this blend of normality and ridiculousness. It was a great combination but the second act came in and it got interesting but slightly replicated the world of Kingsman. But came the third act and it was wayyyy too ridiculous, even more ridiculous than Kingsman I would say. The tone just fell apart there. It became too cartoon-ish, we wondered, 'What happened to all the logics they had established in the beginning?'. If only the beginning was a bit more boisterous in its tone, we could have enjoyed more of the third act.
Another thing that Argylle suffers from is that for a movie this ridiculous, it just doesn't have that much energy to supplement the tone and action portrayed. It became increasingly weirder and ridiculous but the thing is, the energy was flat, if not, increased only mildly. If you felt kinda numb watching the action scenes or you felt that they did everything right but you still felt that something was off or missing, then yeap, it's the energy that's lacking. Kingsman had a vibrant energy and that's what made it a very good film, it jived with the tone of the film. This one, not so much.
Its strong lies in the dynamic of almost every character, particularly the main leads played by Bryce Dallas Howard & Sam Rockwell. These two carried the movie with the support of the whole cast. Bryce and Sam really shined through and through, delivering performances that stay true to what their characters are supposed to suggest to the audience. They are the leads but they don't necessarily have to be charming or elegant. They don't need to be on par with the beauty standards set in Hollywood because their characters just are not meant to be. Personality wise, both of them have different qualities that made their presence strong when together. Their characters really felt out of place to be the leads but it's interesting to have them both put in the situations they're in. Ohhh, and the cat is just sooooo purr-fect.
While a lot of characters are interesting, we indeed have a problem with one character. The character played by Samuel Jackson. His character was very flat for someone who seemed very important. It wasn't fleshed out enough. He barely had any screen time that it won't really affect the story if... he's not thereeee? For a great actor to have a minimal role and did him dirty while other characters have more significance in their presence for the story is kinda like an insult.
Even Dua Lipa has more screen time than him! Or so we thought according to our calculation. This movie markets Dua Lipa as the supporting character but rest assured, she's not. If you guess she's here as a cameo, then you're right. Her acting was okay at best, but she's very pleasing to watch. If only we could get more from her, the movie might have been more fun.
There's a certain cartoon-ish and comical element that comes with the visual effects. But knowing how this movie is going to make us feel and how it's going to look like, the imperfect look just became the right fit for this kind of movie, might even be intentional somehow, that they made the CGI looked exactly the way they appeared to be because it jived with the whole Kingsman-like tone since it's directed by the same guy.
We also need to give credits where it's due to the people who came with the idea and the people who made it happen. The first 45 mins, especially the train scene has superb transitions. It plays with this element a lot and we could see they had so much fun shooting the scenes. The transitions were hard to do but it was smooth. It's something that amplified its entertainment value and we love it.
While the story is packaged and told in a fascinating way, we are not eager to head to the theater for a second viewing. In our opinion, this movie doesn't have the rewatchability factor. It doesn't have the elements to hook us in for a repeat. Action is great but not 'wow' enough. Comedy is there but was pretty bland. There just wasn't anything visually memorable that would want us or we're guessing, most audience for a repeated viewing. The only reason to go again if you'd like to spot all the tiny little details that happened and analyze it better in case you overlooked it during your first viewing. Our advice is, focus on all the little hints this movie is giving you because it is important for the story.
Verdict: What Argylle masters is in its art of crafting its storytelling filled with surprising moments alongside its colourful character dynamics. This Kingsman-like world reflects on and subtly criticizes past action movies tropes in an engaging, somewhat meta manner. Where Argylle lacks is the absurd finale, weak energy and the zilch interest of rewatching it again. But then, Matthew Vaughn again created a world so unique we cannot overlook the fact that this is the most original of a film we can get in 2024.