Star-studded action movie Argylle hits screens this week, but the spy flick has already received a disastrous Rotten Tomatoes score.
Argylle has good pedigree, being directed by Matthew Vaughn, the man responsible for franchise-starters Kick-Ass and Kingsman.
The movie also has a stellar cast, featuring the likes of Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, John Cena, Sofia Boutella, Ariana DeBose, Catherine O’Hara, and Samuel L. Jackson. As well as pop-star Dua Lipa, and Claudia Schiffer’s cat.
But all that star power wasn’t enough to save it from bad reviews, with Argylle’s Rotten Tomatoes score looking grim.
Argylle gets disastrous Rotten Tomatoes score
At the time of writing, Argylle currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 37%, based off 100 critic reviews, which is a terrible start for a film that’s a new IP. Here’s what some of the major outlets had to say…
Vanity Fair: “What went wrong here? It’s probably just plain old exhaustion. Argylle marks the fifth film that Vaughn has made in this mode (I’m counting Kick-Ass), and he seems out of tricks.”
The AV Club: “In trying to play it straight and yet show the very absurd mechanics of what it means to do so – Argylle lands in a kind of exhausting limbo, forever stretching its premise to its breaking point only to snap it back up again. All within the blink of an eye.”
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Variety: “If the broad strokes of Jason Fuchs’ script seem to have been borrowed outright from such pulp-flavored adventure movies as The Lost City and Romancing the Stone, or else spy-memoir satires Hopscotch and Burn After Reading, that doesn’t negate the fact that they provide a reasonably fun way for Vaughn to place a female protagonist in the middle of a typically testosterone-heavy genre.”
Rolling Stone: “No matter how many extra a-ha! moments this tired retread keeps throwing at you, the movie still feels like it’s sucking wind right up until the fade-out. At which point a post-credits kicker seems to hint at more adventures to come, a concept which feels less like a promise and more like a threat.”
Argylle – what we said
The Dexerto review is also live, and we were slightly less harsh on the movie, awarding Argylle 3/5, and writing the following:
“Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle has the zest and fun that brings back memories of the spy comedy era like Austin Powers but turns the notch way up. The movie is a fun watch regardless thanks to its cast and unique twist of a storyline. But some may find themselves asking, ‘How is it not over yet?’ leaving some moviegoers a bit restless. One thing is for sure – the childhood dream of being a spy isn’t gone thanks to Argylle.”
Argylle is released tomorrow (February 2, 2024). While for a rundown of all the films hitting cinemas this month – including Madame Web and Bob Marley movie One Love – head here.
