Argylle (2024)

Argylle (2024). 2h 19m | PG-13

“LIKES:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHumorn-I enjoyed a lot of the comedy in this movie, despite how cheeky and over the top it can be sometime.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Argylle uses a lot of tactics to get a laugh, including: sarcasm, straight up delivery, unbelievable stunts, cheesy moments, and some slapstick that helps go with the flow of the Vaughn movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Balanced into a surprising degree, it doesnu0026#39;t go too farfetched for viewers like me and helps blend that comic book quality with real life that meshes well for me and keeps the movie in that fun area that the first two Kingsman did well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMusicn-Absolutely one of my favorite elements, Vaughnu0026#39;s group has helped pull the right tracks together that are used so intelligently to accomplish a lot of things.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Sometimes the song is just funny, that perfect touch to go with the theme, sell the thoughts, and add that background noise that hits scene by scene in the sequence to bring everything togethern-Other times, the song is just catchy, very energetic, upbeat, and with the sound effects, that culmination of sound engineering that gets me pumped to find the right song.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Itu0026#39;s dynamic, itu0026#39;s quirky, and it really just has the Vaughn feeling behind it that Iu0026#39;ve loved in most of the spy ring craziness.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Funn-Like Kingsman movies 1 and 2, the movie for me was just fun.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-It didnu0026#39;t get too caught up in the politics and agendas of the world, but went back to that ludicrous story that blended many elements together into an engaging piece that kept my attention.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-And yet, still has a story that helps ground it and lead to a more well-rounded experience that avoids (mostly) getting caught up on an element or gimmick to bash it into paste.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Story:n-I wonu0026#39;t say itu0026#39;s the best, but the movie still holds candor for elevating the film past just knock off jokes and violent punches.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Argylleu0026#39;s story actually gives some character development in two of the title characters, helping focus on the story elements and less on the power player role that I very much enjoyed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-A little bit of world building, alongside some engaging elements really gave me characters to follow, and upped the stakes a bit to help accomplish much in the short time period.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Action To Some Degreen-Vaughn knows how to make memorable action sequences and this movie still shows his creative elements coming to life.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-The early stuff surprisingly is grounded, a bit more traditional outside of a few stunts that scream Rockwell fervor.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Near the end though, most of the bouts are totally in the comic book aspect, over the top, flashy, funny, and downright corny that I couldnu0026#39;t help but love everything coming together.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-If thatu0026#39;s not your element, chances are this movie wasnu0026#39;t for you, but for fans of the extreme Kingsman brand, stick around for the latter hour of the movie to get your wishes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Actingn-Once again, Iu0026#39;ll focus on the three actors with the most time and/or have the most build up, or else weu0026#39;ll be here all night.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Cavill is fine for the time he is on screen. Heu0026#39;s got the sex appeal of the Pierce Brosnan spy, the delivery that works with the role, and yet the humor in the later portions of the movie. Itu0026#39;s just too bad he isnu0026#39;t on screen enough to really blend it all together to the max (more on that later)n-Rockwell is Rockwell, fantastic at what he does and bringing his trade sarcasm with it. In this film, heu0026#39;s sarcastic, drops one-liners, just naturally humorous to me, and yet has that moment of vulnerability down that shows how talented he is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-But Howard surprised me with her props in this film, once more proving she can give more layered roles. Sheu0026#39;s nerdy, sheu0026#39;s anxious, sheu0026#39;s loving, and so much more, all brought together to make this odd situation believable, and often avoiding the annoying levels that this thing could have gone into.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Pace, Mostlyn-And like most of the spy-action entries in this directoru0026#39;s list, the pace is engaging for me given the balance of faster walking through the scenes, but slowing down to still smell the roses.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Argylle does its best to find the right ratio of storytelling, world building, and action, all to help further uncover the mystery of this writeru0026#39;s talents and the truth they are seeking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-And for much of the film, I admit they accomplished a lot and made the 2 hour and 17 minute run time feel better than I anticipated, and that is impressive in this day and age when you can complete a story in that time range.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDISLIKES:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe CGI Needs Workn-Some corners were cut in this film and one of them was the CGI of the film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-It is not the worst thing Iu0026#39;ve seen, but there are a lot of moments where the budget cuts and stretched graphics stood out and could be a tad annoying when not used right.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Whether this is during the action scenes, or sometime the backgrounds, Argylleu0026#39;s tech prowess needs some work to obtain the same prowess it did in the past and not get so blurred by the limitations of CGI.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Action Could Have Been Bettern-Argylle keeps the action a little closer on the pulse of reality, forgoing the usual effects for much of the first part of the film and keeping it more of a straight shooter, brawler, with just a little twist.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Eventually we get to the roots, but for this limitation for me, the stunts just needed to be a little more spread out and hold that wow factor Vaughnu0026#39;s work is known to have.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Where were the over the top car stunts or off the wall blasts? Where was that pinnacle end fight that didnu0026#39;t feel so last minute and a stretch to fit another twist into the mix.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-And though much of it does become balanced, I canu0026#39;t help but think there was still some more tweaking to be done to help find that balance the first Kingsman accomplished for me.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA Few Too Many Twists?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-I agree with the reviewers that perhaps Fuchs got a tad carried away with the number of twists in this movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Argylle is loaded to the nines with plots twists. Some of these are good, and others feel forced and added on at the end in some vain attempt to try and break a record.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-They arenu0026#39;t all bad, but at some point, the amount of twists and surprises gets to the point of annoying for me and they could have cut a few things to help finessed the story and help on some of the other dislikes above.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Perhaps that straight and narrow could have gone a bit more to help achieve the same wow factor for Argylleu003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBalancing Of Actors Needs Improvementn–For me the biggest limitation is by far the balancing of the cast and the characters that get promoted in the commercial.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Rockwell and Howard have the most screen time, but after that, most of the rest of the cast is in these fleeting moments, with only Cavill eking out a few more moments.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-True, they all have that memorable factor, but I know there was a lot more they could have done with them, more inclusion and bending the story around their involvement like the first part of the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e-Samuel L Jackson, Cena, Dua Lipa, and more just felt like they got the shaft on this film, and though better than some movies, Argylle still shows what loading up on a cast can do if not balanced.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe VERDICT:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eArgylle was a lot of fun for this reviewer, and was a lot better than the prequel a few years ago for the series. The primary reason is just Vaughn pulling his magic of blending so many things into an entertaining piece and finding the way to just make it energetic and fun. Some decent acting to deliver the lines, character development, escalating action and plenty of comedy all mesh well and optimize the feelings Vaughn knows how to make come alive. An engaging pace and just that entertainment value were all elements I loved and found worthy of the theater visit. Yet, it still has room to improve to get back to the first Kingsman for me. The action gradually gets to that exciting level, but feels a bit stiff to begin with as the move finds ground. The twists and pacing need a bit more sprucing up to be that perfect balance of storytelling and flair I know this director can bring. Yet, itu0026#39;s the CGI and the character integration that are the weakest elements, and no amount of catchy music and humor is going to offset that several key players were fairly absent. Still, I give this movie a solid go to and had fun with the theater experience, so I encourage others to get it a try at the theater if possible.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy scores are:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAction/Thriller: 7.5-8.0nMovie Overall: 7.0.”