I had no idea what to expect when I stepped into the movie theater to watch Argylle. I had heard rumors that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift secretly directed the movie, but those rumors had since been dispelled after Matthew Vaughn came out as the clear director.
Argylle left me feeling mixed emotions. The storyline follows reclusive author Elly Conway and her journey to finish writing the last chapter of her book, which suddenly appears to be mirroring events in her own life. Conway ends up finding herself intertwined with the plot in the very books she wrote, and she’s forced to discover the truth about her past.
To be honest, the first hour of the movie was unimpressionable. While I was intrigued by pop star Dua Lipa’s role in the film, the storyline was lackluster and boring. An author has writer’s block and hops on a train to visit her parents to gain some inspiration. That was about it. Although there were some key details in the first half of the movie, I think a majority of it could have been condensed to cut to the chase and leave viewers on the edge of their seats.
I also wasn’t a fan of some of the creative choices in the movie. The action scenes tried to come across as comical, but the music choices just didn’t sit right with me. I think if the movie creators got rid of the silly undertones and focused instead on the suspense and thrill, it would have made the production much more enjoyable. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t sprinkle a few jokes here and there, but I thought that the humor was untimely and simply just not funny. Only after some major plot twists did the movie really pick up, but the cringey action scenes broke down the intensity of the plot.
I’ve watched a lot of action/thriller movies, and this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I appreciated the artistry and complexity of the plot, but it had so much more potential than the movie let on. The production just didn’t quite execute the vision I had in mind for this story.
However, with the all-star cast, the acting was on point, and I really enjoyed watching Bryce Dallas Howard lead in this film after watching Jurassic World. If you’re fans of John Cena or Dua Lipa, they also received their fair share of screen time. I’d recommend this movie to anyone with two and a half hours to spare, and even though I wasn’t necessarily in love with this movie, I’d watch the sequel that the post-credits scene teased.
My older sister Therese shared, “I thought the plot was really well-thought out and the actors played their roles well, but the visual effects were a little off for me.”
Movie Times: click here for showtimes
Genre: Action, Thriller
Run Time: 2 hours 19 minutes
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell
Rating: PG-13
