After ‘Kick-Ass’ and ‘Kingsman’, Matthew Vaughn left Mark Millar’s comics aside and opted for a hilarious original story
Have we stopped knowing how to enjoy simple things? This is the question that was on my mind after seeing how a good part of the critics and, especially, the public, began to give my humble opinion some undeserved blows to what is, probably one of the best action films we will see throughout this cinematographic course 2024. An ‘Argylle’ that, luckily, is having a second life by grace and work of streaming.
After showing his worth in the notable three installments of the ‘Kingsman’ saga, Matthew Vaughn decided to move away from Marc Millar’s universe to bet on an original story that, despite not moving away from the spy games and secret agents inherited from the comic, It is seasoned by a component that rounds off a cocktail of comedy, intrigue and designer setpieces. as far-fetched as it is downright fun.
Our love broke (and I don’t understand why)
There is no doubt that ‘Argylle’ is one of those productions about which the less you know about the plot, the better. Precisely, one of the biggest criticisms of her lies in her promotional campaign, which played the game of confusion to deliberately hide the ins and outs and the big surprises which contain 140 minutes of impossible twists that underpin a tremendously addictive narrative that invites you not to blink.
And the feature film boasts a practically perfect and balanced rhythm and tempo. During the first bars, the story takes its time to present and develop its charming characters, who, ultimately, are the true driving force of the project. But, once the trigger that marks the transition from the first act to the second is overcome, the narrative steps on the accelerator and does not let go until the closing of a frenetic third act.
Both Vaughn and screenwriter Jason Fuchs have achieved something tremendously complicated: balance action and comedy until reaching an almost perfect mix. ‘Argylle’ does not take a single aspect of it seriously, something that allows it to exude freshness when shaping its many gags and evolving a plot that takes the suspension of disbelief to the limit. If you don’t play his game, he can seem like a headless nonsense—and he probably is.
This, in addition to its crazy plot, applies to some amazing, tacky action scenes, which leave aside the laws of physics and which They reaffirm Vaughn as the king of setpieces that move away from the tangible to embrace the digital without any shame. After all, you have to know very well how to shoot using this technique and this style without the result being a pastiche that is difficult to look at.
My biggest complaint with ‘Argylle’ may be centered on its age rating and its treatment of violence. I don’t rule out that this is the result of being used to Vaughn’s work in ‘Kingsman’ and ‘Kick-Ass’, but his latest work conveys a sense of self-imposed—or studio-imposed—containment to conform to a watered-down PG13 that cries out for a more explicit approach when capturing the trail of deaths that the film leaves in its two hours and twenty.
This, ultimately, is just a small note within a set that left me delighted after seeing it on the big screen and that is rounded off by a very dedicated cast in which Sam Rockwell and Bryce Dallas Howard steal each and every one of the spotlights of the show. A cherry on a playful and self-conscious cake that should have received much more love and that shows that we like to be surprised less and less.
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