Yahoo News Henry Cavill's new spy movie Argylle gets mixed first reactions
The first reactions for Henry Cavill's mysterious spy comedy Argylle have landed – and it's a mixed bag.
The latest from director Matthew Vaughn has been shrouded in mystery, as the project is being promoted as an adaptation of a spy novel from first-time author Elly Conway.
There were theories that Taylor Swift may have written the book under a pen name (which Vaughn denies) – or even that the rumours themselves were some kind of elaborate marketing stunt since Jurassic World's Bryce Dallas Howard plays a spy novelist, also called Elly Conway, in the film itself.
In Argylle, the novelist is drawn into the world of espionage when some of the plots of her books begin to mirror real events engineered by an international criminal syndicate.
The impressive international cast includes the now-former Superman star Cavill, Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, WWE star John Cena, Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston and Schitt's Creek legend Catherine O'Hara – but does this incredible array of talent translate to a laugh-filled thrill ride at the cinema?
The first critical reactions to Argylle have now landed, with critic and podcaster Brandon Davis praising the film for being "a fun, slick, wild ride that runs a little long".
Screenrant's Joseph Deckelmeier called the movie "a lot of fun", saying it is "the perfect blend of action, comedy, music, and espionage".
Critic Neil Vagg likened Argylle to "pure Vaughn brilliance distilled into the finest bottle of Statesman Whiskey".
Kristen Maldonado added: "All I'll say is I was constantly on the edge of my seat. When you think Matthew Vaughn has taken things as far as they can go, he turns it up another level!"
However, some reactions were critical of the complex story, with Next Best Picture's Daniel Howat describing the movie as "fun but empty", adding: "Matthew Vaughn utilizes his tried-and-true bombastic action style that's always a good time.
"The story, on the other hand, is so overly consumed with twist after twist that it loses any sense."
Dancin' Dan on Film tweeted that the movie starts out as a "fun spy spoof" but added that "it loses steam as it goes on, becoming an overindulgent mess of twists, tonal shifts, and terrible CGI".
Vaughn recently addressed the theories Taylor Swift had written the film using 'Elly Conway' as a pen name.
The theories derive from the appearance of a Scottish Fold cat in Argylle, since Taylor's pet cat Olivia Benson is the same breed, and has been frequently photographed in a similar bubble backpack to the one used in the film.
"I'm not a big internet guy, and it was actually my daughter who came up to me – this is the power of celebrity and the internet – and said, 'You never told me Taylor wrote the book!'" he told Rolling Stone.
"And I'm looking at her going, 'What are you talking about Taylor Swift wrote the book? She didn't write the book!'"
The screenplay adaptation has been written by Jason Fuchs, a screenwriter whose previous credits include Wonder Woman and Ice Age: Continental Drift.
Vaughn has expressed hopes that Argylle will be successful enough to launch a franchise, where sequels could even 'adapt' stories from Elly Conway about the spies in her on-screen counterpart's novels.
Argylle arrives in cinemas globally on February 2, 2024, before being released worldwide on Apple TV+.
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