If we made the movie True Lies today, it would be Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, but on steroids and sillier! No, that is not a bad thing. However, if you go into this movie thinking it’s going to be a serious James Bond-type spy thriller with a romance angle then prepare to be disappointed! That’s okay because this movie is more entertaining than what we could have gotten if it had a serious tone. I admit that I’m a huge fan of Matthew Vaughn who gives us just the right amount of seriousness within an action movie but blends it perfectly with comedy and when he’s trying to be funny it’s an intelligent satire. I’m glad that I didn’t go into this movie expecting it to be serious and that it’s exactly what it should be; a comedic action thriller that pokes fun at every espionage and romance troupe in movies. Take that and give the audience the perfect cast and you have one hell of an entertaining movie that will not disappoint!

Bryce Dallas Howard plays a spy thriller novelist who lives a quiet life riding her popular series called Argylle until she is thrust into danger when a real-life spy tells her that the plots of her book are predicting real-world outcomes, and two different spy agencies are trying to get their hands on her. It’s a classic damsel in distress story where a spy much like James Bond comes in and saves the day, but of course, I am not going to spoil it for you, the story has quite a few twists and turns. Just remember nothing is what it seems! Henry Cavill and John Cena play the fictional spies that seem to come to life as Bryce Dallas Howard’s character sees them everywhere she goes as a type of coping mechanism to deal with the stress of almost being killed by bad guys. Yes, the story is a little different than True Lies where the basic plot is that of spy who had been lying to his wife for 18 years and is captured and while learning the truth about her husband’s real-life identity.

However, this film definitely has a True Lies vibe. It doesn’t take itself too seriously while giving us a lot of great action and sometimes over-the-top fight scenes, but the most important thing that makes this film work is the comedy. As I mentioned earlier, it is a satire. It’s not supposed to have a dark and gritty tone like a James Bond movie and let’s face it, Sam Rockwell would never be able to play James Bond, but he can play a hilarious and dashing spy that keeps you entertained. Sam Rockwell is the type of actor that could do no wrong in a movie and that makes him perfect casting. I love the casting of Bryce Dallas Howard for the novelist role because she very much seems like the boring homebody that you would think could never have any fun, but secretly lives a double life. And she’s great in anything she does even when she’s playing vile racist characters like in The Help. But I think there’s also two other cashing choices that are brilliant for this movie, Catherine O’Hara and Brian Cranston… Two phenomenal actors who can switch modes easily and play different types of characters and make you laugh along the way. This movie certainly works better as a comedy instead of trying to be a serious spy thriller. Sure, there are some basic plot points that wouldn’t work in a dark James Bond or even The Bourne Identity type of movie, but we have plenty of dark spy thrillers, we need a good comedy that pokes fun at action comedies or even romance movies that take themselves too seriously.

Now of course the film isn’t perfect. I enjoyed it very much. I will certainly watch it again and it’s a great date movie, but sometimes Matthew Vaughn doesn’t know if he should be dramatic or make us laugh. He obviously goes for the laughs in this kind of film. However, there isn’t a whole lot of substance and there are moments when the story is trying to be too serious. It’s the same problem that he ran into when he made the Kingsman movies. I feel like there are some deleted scenes where they did get more serious and explore the backstories of the characters to make us feel more connected to them as an audience. These kinds of scenes serve as a bridge between the comedy and the drama for the true substance of a film. Maybe we’ll get a director’s cut that addresses this problem. The film is very stylish but sometimes too stylish.  They’re all sorts of comedies, but this film is not meant to be like a Naked Gun film. The best comedies are not over the top but there’s a subtle sense of humor that adds more heart within the story. As I said you can’t take the story too seriously, it’s meant to entertain us and keep us laughing until the end.

To me one of the biggest flaws is not having enough Samuel L Jackson interacting with other characters. I understand the need for that based on the overall plot, but movies are always better when you have somebody like Samuel L. Jackson in it. Is this a movie worth watching? Of course, it is, it’s even worth a trip to the theater. If you need just a good laugh that pokes fun at action movies and romcoms, then this is a good one. Everyone in the cast truly gives a wonderful performance. And the action scenes are a little insane at times, but they do work. Simply put, Argylle is just a fun movie that doesn’t have to be some dark thriller or serious drama nor focus too much on romance. It’s a perfect blend of satire and action that is well worth the price of a movie ticket. A lot of directors try to make their movies into something they’re not meant to be, I think Matthew Vaughn knows exactly what kind of movie this needs to be even if at times, it’s a little cheesy,  but that can also make for great entertainment. For pure entertainment value, I highly recommend Argylle even if we won’t be talking about it next year for awards he said, but who cares, sometimes we just need to be entertained at the movies and that’s what Matthew Vaughn’s latest film does well!