Review: ‘Argylle’ presents over-complicated plot

Margaret Korte
Entertainment Editor

Argylle review graphic — Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa and John Cena in “Argylle,” which premiered in theaters February 2, 2024. Photo from Apple TV.

From a robotic script to a cat that looks like it’s computer-generated (but is somehow, supposedly, real), “Argylle” feels completely non-human made, despite how hard it tries to be fresh.

“Argylle” tells the story of the author of a spy novel series who learns her novels have predicted the actions of a villain-spy organization. She’s being hunted because of her books, and another organization needs her to predict what will happen before the villains do.

The main character, author Elly Conway, played by Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”), is saved by spy Aiden, played by Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”). She is then brought into a world of espionage, despite the fact she prefers to spend her time alone with her cat.

Howard’s character feels one-sided throughout the film, changing motives and characteristics at seemingly the drop of a hat, and somehow staying incredibly stereotypical the whole time. She’s an author who’s afraid of flying, and whose only care in the world is her pet cat, Alfie. Her emotions are more or less nonexistent: aside from initial shocks, Conway seems unaffected by everything happening around her. It takes little to convince her of the truth, no matter how ridiculous it is, which makes it harder for the viewer to relate to her and sympathize even when large plot twists occur.

Rockwell’s character, while serving his comedic purpose of making self-aware jokes and proving to the viewer that the movie is definitely supposed to be this campy, is less one-dimensional than Conway. Still, his lack of a backstory makes his only connection to the plot the main character.
The beginning of the movie is flashy and dramatic, each character acting almost cartoonishly (even in the scenes outside of Conway’s imagination). The first half hour or so of the movie is somewhat enjoyable, if strange, but goes downhill when the actual action begins.

The story, though characters take jabs at it throughout the film, feels half-baked and rushed, until the end, when scenes are stretched out beyond their breaking point.

By the end of the movie, the viewer can only hope it will end soon. Plot twists get old quickly and, while some are more predictable than others, make previous revelations seem unnecessary. Scenes feel like they were just put in to reach the two-hour mark, rather than adding intrigue to the movie.

This movie seems to serve as a star vehicle more than anything else, with notable names like Dua Lipa, Henry Cavill, Samuel L. Jackson and John Cena, just to name a few.

“Argylle” was advertised relentlessly, so much that the only way to go to a movie and avoid seeing its trailers in the past few months may have been to just go to a showing of “Argylle” itself.

The execution was undoubtedly what led to the downfall of “Argylle”—while the idea is somewhat fresh, the way the movie is filmed, down to the unconvincing CGI, makes it feel like a child’s version of any other action movie.
All of this only concludes with a confusing post-credit scene, teasing at the next movie in the series (that’s right—there’s two more). After the tortuous past two hours of the film, this can seem like worse news than anything Elly Conway learns throughout the movie.

“Argylle” has a two-hour-and-nineteen minute run time, is rated PG-13 for violence and language. It’s showing in theaters.