To be entirely honest, if I had any idea prior to watching this movie that it was not to be taken seriously, I would give it the benefit of the doubt. However, I can surely say this was one of the most mediocre films I’ve seen in a while. Despite having multiple well-known actors cast in roles, such as Bryce Dallas Howard, Henry Cavill, and Samuel L. Jackson, “Argylle”, directed by Matthew Vaughn, somehow made for a very confusing story. While I wish I could lie and say this movie was worth a mid-week trip to the movie theater, I was disappointed that what I perceived to be a thrilling espionage film based on the trailers, was overshadowed by its perplexingly long expositions and confusing plot points. When going to see this movie, I highly suggest getting some background information so you know that it is not meant to be too taken seriously.

 To begin, the movie follows author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her pet cat Alfie as she struggles to write the next installation of her acclaimed series following the adventures of Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill). It opens with a plot surrounding Agent Argylle as he conspires to unravel an evil global spy syndicate. When Elly travels by train to see her mother (Catherine O’Hara), she is approached by a pretentious man, Aiden (Sam Rockwell), who begins reading her novel in front of her. As Elly tries to keep her true identity hidden out of embarrassment, things go sideways when she is attacked by a group of assailants and she must determine whether to trust Aiden to protect her.

While there were some interesting action scenes to set up the plot of the movie, it was difficult to follow as the story seemed to go all over the place. “Argylle” managed to incorporate almost every spy movie trope it could while moving along at a fast pace and transitioning between Elly’s reality and what she sees in her head, including flashes of her character Argylle. As Elly’s stories begin mirroring her real life, the storyline becomes jam-packed with action going at too fast of a pace to comprehend much less enjoy. The main problem I had with this movie is that if it had no tangible storyline I could follow. While there were some exciting plot twists throughout, I found myself continuously questioning whether to walk out of the theater because I had, for lack of better words, no idea what was going on.

While making jokes in high-stress situations is a commonly used tactic for comedy, the actors’ humor often fell short and often felt out of place as they were made at too serious of times. The movie felt like it was trying to be too funny, almost like a parody of a spy film. While I sat in my seat watching randomly timed ballroom dancing and ice-skating fights, I contemplated whether or not this movie was supposed to be taken seriously. The main problem I had with “Argylle” is that I felt like the parts where the movie was trying to seem somewhat funny used cliche dialogue, making me cringe when I wanted to chuckle.  

Despite the comedic drama not coming across as very comedic for me, I did find enjoyment in the dramatic parts of the movie. Many of the action scenes were well choreographed and heightened the spy aspect of the film. One scene even took place on a train with Aiden slinging around props, such as Elly’s book itself, and created dynamic movement, which I greatly appreciated. If the movie capitalized off of this aspect, rather than embracing flat humor, it would have made this movie way more entertaining.

I feel the cast had so many star-studded additions that the rudimentary dialogue and overly complex plot suppressed the full potential of “Argylle.” While many of my critiques focused on making the film more serious at times instead of overly humorous, I would say that for people looking for a good laugh, this is the movie for you.