The movie theaters are not as packed with spy comedies as of recently. Luckily this genre of movie is still around to this day, and this one is a special case with a lovable cat and an adventure between our two protagonists across Europe. Director Matthew Vaughn brought “Argylle” to theaters on Feb. 2, and it will be released on Apple TV+ at a later date. The movie brings the same style of comedy and action as Vaughn’s movie trilogy, “The King’s Man.” Ratings for this movie are low, but it was still amazing with its comedy and action throughout the movie.
The movie starts by introducing viewers to writer Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, at a book talk about the fifth edition of her hit spy book series “Argylle,” where her fans question what is to come next for the series. Conway starts to write the sixth entry to the series, and her mother talks to her about revising the ending as it seems rushed. Conway encounters an undercover spy named Aiden Wilde, played by Sam Rockwell, who saves her life from a supposed fan from the book talk who turns out to be an assassin. Conway joins Wilde on a wild goose chase for some spy intel and living out Conway’s sixth book to uncover the truth about herself and whom to trust.
Apple casted an amazing bunch for this movie, with actors that perfectly fit the role they are meant to play. Bryan Cranston played the role of the main villain of the story, Director Ritter, and the tone of his voice and the way he speaks during the movie is impeccable and seems so natural. Howard did really well as Conway in the first part of the movie since she looks like the go-lucky type of person that she is. Conway’s personality switches in the middle of the movie, which could have been executed better if the writers put more time into the script for it to transition correctly. Rockwell‘s performance as Wilde was not impressive. His face is emotionless throughout the entire movie, and he acts idiotic, making Conway question whether Wilde is really on her side.
The action in the movie was not noteworthy, and the explosions were not anything special in the long run. The chase scenes throughout “Argylle” are similar to those in the “Fast and the Furious” series: the scenes look intense but do not translate correctly onto the screen well for the audience. The movie could have done way more with the action, but it felt as though it was leaning towards a comedy rather than an action movie. The comedy, on the other hand, was amusing, thanks to one member of the cast who was not even an actor.
Alfie, Conway’s cat, provides most of the comic relief for the movie and plays a big part in the movie at the end. The actual cat is one of Vaughn’s daughter’s cats, Chip. Although Chip was not a cat actor, he gave an amazing performance that showed that he was meant to be a performer. Chip is a Scottish Fold, one of the fluffiest and most expensive cats in the world. He has one of the most recognizable faces in the world with his flat face and big eyes. Seeing the cat jump off buildings and Wilde dealing with cat allergies were the best highlights of the movie. Luckily, the cat was not harmed in any of the stunts during the production of the film and was replaced with computer-generated imagery to keep Alfie safe in potentially dangerous stunts.
Even though the movie was entertaining and interesting, it did poorly at the box office, only earning $18 million on its debut with a $200 million budget. Apple has continued to release great movies that do not make up the cost of production. When “Napoleon” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” came to theaters, they both had a budget of $200 million and failed to earn that back at the box office. “Argylle” was one of Apple’s worst-performing movies so far as it has only earned $35 million at the box office.
Reviews for this movie were way below par for what it should have been. On Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, “Argylle” received 32% and 35% respectively. Most critics claimed that the movie was trying to be too much and that some of the things that happened during the movie were nonsensical, such as pulling combat boots out of nowhere and then pushing knives into the soles of the boots to skate on oil. Some of these issues with the movie do ruin it, but if the movie was labeled as a comedy rather than a thriller then it would have done better at the box office.
This movie on the outside seems like a typical spy movie that has a romanticized ending with explosions in the background as credits roll on the screen. This movie however is so much more than the reviews give them credit with its comedy and thrilling twists. The cat is the character that makes the movie amazing, being extra unique in its own way. Despite reviews, it is a worthwhile film for all cat lovers and spy movie fans.
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