“Argylle” might just be the best spy movie of 2024 so far, with twist after twist after twist that will genuinely shock you and leave you wondering what is going to happen next.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (“The King’s Man”, “X-Men: First Class”) and written by Jason Fuchs (“Pan”, “Wonder Woman” (2017)), “Argylle” follows the story of a reclusive author whose best-selling espionage novels about a secret agent named Argylle end up somehow mirroring the goings-on of a real-life spy organization. Now that she’s about to finish her fifth book, she becomes the target of a global spy syndicate desperate to know how the story ends.
It sounds at first something akin to the 2006 film “Stranger Than Fiction” where a man finds out that he is just a character in someone else’s book, but “Argylle” isn’t like that at all. The more the movie progresses, the more truths are revealed—truths that you’d never see coming from a mile away. It’s like we’re learning all these things at the same time as the protagonist Elly Conway, who slowly becomes enlightened as to exactly why she’s in this mess in the first place. It’s movies like this that are such a breath of fresh air because you’re able to go along with the ride without knowing what could happen next.
And “Argylle” is such a laugh-out-loud film too as much as it is the on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind. I found myself laughing the entire duration of the movie, even during purposely cheesy jokes and scenes. When I wasn’t, I would be gaping at the screen, so deep into all that is going on.
Each character left a great mark on my memory too throughout the film. Bryce Dallas Howard was phenomenal as the cat-loving anxiety-ridden Elly while Sam Rockwell succeeded in capturing my heart as the nihilistic, no B.S. agent Aiden. Of course, how could one neglect to mention the dashing Henry Cavill as the fictional Agent Argylle, whose power moves in action-packed moments are enough to make you melt in your theater seat? Even John Cena as the reliable Wyatt, Dua Lipa as the villainous LaGrange, Ariana DeBose as Keira, and Samuel L. Jackson as Alfred Solomon each shone in the handful of scenes that they were in. Elly’s cat Alfie, played by real-life cat Chip, was also such a delight to witness even though he was just sitting there purring most of the time.
“Argylle” is definitely a must-watch with its amazing storytelling, unpredictable turns, and characters you can’t help but love and root for until the very end. 5 out of 5 stars!
Watch “Argylle” in cinemas nationwide starting January 31, 2024.
(ALSO READ: Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” Review: Of Overcoming Grief and Embracing Life)
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