Here’s the premise: Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard), an introverted spy novelist who seldom leaves her home, is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. When Aiden (Sam Rockwell), a spy, shows up to save her (he says) from being kidnapped or killed (or both), Elly and her beloved cat Alfie are plunged into a covert world where nothing, and no one, is what it seems.
I’ve admired director Matthew Vaughn’s work for some time now; from Kingsman to Layer Cake to Kick-ass, he has made some incredible movies. Argyll is right there with the other films he has directed. Argyll is fun, witty, and suspenseful all at the same time. The writing is lighthearted and fun while sprinkling in some awesome chase scenes and some great twists along the way. Vaughn uses some surreal scenes in this film, much like in Kingsman; some may think it’s silly but I tend to just think it is fun. So when the fighting dance scene comes around, just sit back and let yourself enjoy it.
The cast is awesome, Bryce is fastly becoming one of my favorite actresses that is out there today, she has a star quality to her but seems like the girl next door; and she can do comedy, drama, whatever is put before her. Sam Rockwell has also one of my favorite actors, and he blows it up as the spy you never know if you can trust. Rounding out the cast is Henry Cavill as the imaginary spy from Elly’s books and Samual L. Jackson. All the cast are awesome and they seem to be having fun with the material, as will the audience.
Overall, I had a lot of fun and laughed (truly out loud) in many of the scenes. I highly recommend Argyll. If you are a fan of spy films (serious of not) or Mathrw Vaughn’s work, you will love this movie.
Russell Lockhart
