Argylle

Matthew Vaughn is successfully copying Zack Snyder's creative trajectory. He's not at the finish line yet, but he's getting close. A tiresome, mechanical layering of twists and turns (where no one can be able to tell if the film still makes any sense on any level by halfway through the running time at the latest) wrapped in a sometimes aesthetically repugnant package, complete with humour for first graders in elementary school. Even the acting doesn't work. As a director, Vaughn manages to give drive to at least some of the action scenes here, but far from all of them (e.g. the opening sequence on the train, switching between two actors, struck me as completely disjointed and ultimately annoying). (05.03.2024)

Author Elly Conway discovers that her spy books have more in common with reality than she thought, and that their hero, Argyle, may very well be real. But why does everyone suddenly want to kill her? Matthew Vaughn delivers another homage to spy action movies that is full of ideas and original action sequences, but this time perhaps so wild that it may be beyond tolerable for some. (01.02.2024)

Matthew Vaughn is a favourite of mine and I love the KIngsman series, but Argylle is his first big misstep so far, where even his trademarks don't work and the whole thing is just so weird and dysfunctional. A lot of the film is hampered by the fact that there is no R-rated action, if he had sprinkled some gore in there and spiced up the film with some decent humour, the whole thing would have worked a lot better, but unfortunately the casting alone isn't worth much. The most interesting acting trio of Henry Cavill, John Cena and Dua Lipa are rather just cameos, and Sam Rockwell tries his best, but I'd rather see someone else there. Bryce Dallas Howard is completely miscast for me though, as the bulge in the action doesn't work for me at all (Dua Lipa and Sofia Boutella would have been much better suited there). The plot twists are quite overwrought and none of them are very interesting or shocking, and even the action this time is not typically playful, creative and inventive, except for two quite original action scenes in the very finale – the dance using colored smoke bombs was interesting and visually nice and the oil skating was mad, but it was one of the lighter moments of the film. That said, I have to criticise the opening scene on the train, where the switching between the two actors was very annoying even to me, and it's a shame no one told Vaughn that this really isn't cool. Overall a big disappointment, but I didn't suffer, it's watchable. 55%. (06.03.2024)

Es ist lustig, spannend, scheinbar eine klassische Variation von Le Magnifique - Ich bin der Größte, aber das ist nicht das Wichtigste. Das Wichtigste ist die wunderschöne Bryce Dallas Howard (Spoiler). Das Marketing spielt dieses Mal ein absolut unabhängiges Spiel zum eigentlichen Film. Und ich bin wirklich froh, dass es nicht ein nächster Kingsman: The Secret Service ist. Denn Bob Saint-Clare gibt es nur einmal. (01.02.2024)

Ein überraschend unausgeglichener Film, in dem manchmal sehr wenig und manchmal zu viel passiert, in dem Bryce Dallas Howard in keiner Position glaubwürdig wirkt (und sie wechselt mehrere ab), während man Sam Rockwell sogar als Spion glauben würde, der mit Ethan Hunt mithalten könnte. Matthew Vaughn bemüht sich so sehr, zu unterhalten und zu begeistern, dass er letztendlich fast langweilt. Eine Rettung ist das große Finale mit dem Klang einer perfekten symphonischen Version von "Now and then". Und das Ende? Ich war so verwirrt, dass ich zur Beruhigung Tenet sehen wollte. (17.02.2024)

If someone had told me face-to-face that Matthew Vaughn could make a movie that would disappoint me, I would have laughed them off. Well, not anymore. This movie was bad in so many ways. The script was desperately weak, and I can't fathom why Vaughn got involved. Sure, I can see the financial appeal, but did he really think it was worth it? Apparently, he did. Initially, it felt like a rip-off of The Man from Acapulco, and I definitely enjoyed the French version more. As the story unfolded, it took a different direction, which could have been fine if I had actually enjoyed the movie. But between the digital overload and the mostly unconvincing performances (except for Sam Rockwell, who couldn’t save it alone), I just couldn't find the fun. This movie just didn’t work for me. / Lesson learned: If you want to become a secret agent, train a cat. (16.05.2024)