With its faulty script and superficial story, the spy film Argylle disappointed with its low gross. Even actor Henry Cavill appeared faded.

Argylle (Vietnamese title: Argylle Super Spy ) attracted attention when it was invested more than $ 200 million, gathering a star cast including Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson … especially actor Henry Cavill – “the most handsome person in the world 2022”.

Unfortunately, the film could not create a fever when it came out. The work received much criticism for its rambling content, lackluster acting…

Both sales and scores in North America were low, making it Hollywood’s first bombshell, as well as Henry Cavill’s forgettable project.

Limited script, dragged narrative

The film tells the story of writer Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) who wrote a series of famous spy novels. Because of the secret idea, she determined to set out to find her relatives to have inspiration to compose.

On the way, the writer unexpectedly meets super spy Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell). However, subsequent events cause her to repeatedly mistake him for Argylle (Henry Cavill), the character in her book.

Ironically, Elly ends up being Aidan’s companion on her journey to destroy the evil division.

Sam Rockwell (left) and Bryce Dallas Howard in the film.

With the above idea, the screenplay revealed many holes. The crew is greedy in inserting the twist but can’t connect every detail tightly. The characters are superficially constructed, the unconvincing personalities make the story slip faintly.

In the director’s chair is Matthew Vaughn – famous for many action movies such as Kick-Ass (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011) or the Kingsman series (2014-2021).

The filmmaker retains the fun, somewhat bombastic and colorful style, which is what makes his name. However, the direction is not always successful, but it has the opposite effect on the audience.

Despite his long experience, Matthew Vaughn handled the rhythm poorly, making the work lengthy and draggy, lasting up to 139 minutes but less attractive.

The film still uses the familiar motif of Hollywood action blockbusters. The director takes viewers around the world but none of the locations leave an impression. The action scenes sometimes slip, creating a sense of sluggishness instead of drama.

A few images from the film.

The budget of more than $200 million is mainly focused on the visual part. The crew invests heavily in costumes and backgrounds, creating vivid, colorful frames.

The film impresses with its nostalgic fashion style, with a 1980s sound. However, the effects are not well cared for, creating a sketchy feeling, not worthy of a heavily invested project.

Henry Cavill and the star-studded cast

As one of the factors that attracted visitors, Henry Cavill had a meager performance that disappointed many audiences.

In fact, the actor only plays a fictional character from the novel, playing a not so important role. When appearing, the most handsome man in the world also caused a surprise with a strange, somewhat funny shape.

Besides, names like Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena, Bryan Cranston … neither could shine in the film. Even singer Dua Lipa appeared quickly, leaving many viewers unable to remember the name.

With a big budget and a star-studded cast, Argylle is expected to be the beginning of a new Hollywood spy franchise, following in the footsteps of James Bond series, Mission Impossible or Kingsman …

According to Matthew Vaughn, this is the first part in a trilogy, connected to the Kingsman series to create a new cinematic universe about spies.

That is why a series of magazines such as Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Collider … all predict this is one of the most awaited Hollywood blockbusters in 2024.

Appearing faintly, actor Henry Cavill could not save the film.

Contrary to expectations, Argylle quickly received many criticisms from experts after its launch. The work rated “Rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes with 32% of critics’ votes.

Most underestimated the acting, bad cinematography and patchy story. The stars are just the guise of the crew used to promote the film, attract the audience to the theater.

Variety estimates the film must gross at least $500 million to break even. However, currently the project only collects more than 60 million USD worldwide.

In Vietnam, Argylle debuted just in time for the Lunar New Year and had to confront many Vietnamese films. However, the work was far behind the films Mai and Meet the pregnant sister. Up to now, the blockbuster has only collected more than 5.8 billion VND according to statistics from Box Office Vietnam (an independent box office observation unit).

Overall, Argylle is truly a forgettable film, not only with actor Henry Cavill but also director Matthew Vaughn. Given the current situation, it is unlikely that the film will be made a sequel as originally planned.