Argylle, a spy film directed by Matthew Vaughn, was met with mixed reviews at the start of 2024. The film starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard was not well-received by film critics and the box office, and the director is weighing in on what happened. The film grossed just $96.2 million at the box office and was released on Apple TV+.
It was not exactly what Vaughn hoped for, having imagined Argylle as the starting point for all kinds of adventures to come, both in the real-world setting inhabited by Conway and Sam Rockwell’s Aidan Wilde, and the fictional world of Conway’s novels led by Henry Cavill’s Agent Argylle.
Mathew Vaughn opens up about Argylle’s negative reviews
Argylle director Matthew Vaughn expressed disappointment in the film’s negative reception and expressed interest in continuing the story before its release. Despite the negative feedback, Vaughn remains committed to directing more films in the franchise.
“My guard came down on Argylle,” Vaughn admitted when talking about its poor reception. “We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well. The premiere was a really fun night, and it was like going back to the Snatch days where there was such excitement. And I started drinking the Kool-Aid.”
He continued, “We didn’t make Citizen Kane, but fucking hell, then the reviews came out and I’m like, ‘Wait, what have I done to offend these people?’ They were vitriolic. I’m not saying the movie’s perfect by any means, but I didn’t think it was offensive. That took me by surprise.”
However, despite Vaughn not getting the valid reasons why critics disliked the film, he still thinks the franchise has more to offer. Argylle found success on streaming platforms after its disappointing box office run, which has given Vaughn something to think about. “We’re doing very well on streaming,” Vaughn noted. “People are liking it. Nothing would make me happier than making another one. I’m getting texts saying, ‘Wow, those reviews were fucking harsh!’”
The director continued, “The more we can get people to watch Argylle, the more chance we make another one. I’d love to make another one, we’ve got it planned.” He also teased the Young Argylle prequel. “It’ll make a good little movie. We’ll see,” says Vaughn. “Never say never.”
Vaughn has some other projects in the works, including a Kingsman sequel, a WWI-set continuation to the Kingsman prequel, Kingsman: The Blue Blood and The King’s Man: The Traitor King, respectively, and also producing a trilogy set in the Kick-Ass universe.
What is the story of Argylle?
The story of Argylle follows Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist, who struggles with writer’s block after receiving feedback from her mother, Ruth. On a train journey, she is saved from an ambush by Aidan Wilde, who reveals that a devious organization, the Division, has targeted her due to her novels predicting their future. Aidan and Elly travel to England, hoping to uncover the Division’s plan in her next chapter.
In London, the duo searches for a Masterkey that would help expose the Division referenced in Elly’s novels. Suspecting Aidan wants to kill her too, Elly calls her parents for help. As they arrive, Aidan reveals that her parents are operatives of the Division, forcing him and Elly to fend them off before fleeing.
Escaping to France, Aidan and former CIA deputy director Alfie Solomon reveal that Argylle is not entirely fictional: Elly is in fact agent Rachel Kylle, who was captured and brainwashed by the Division five years earlier and made to believe that Dr. Margaret Vogeler and Director Ritter were her parents.
Elly put her suppressed memories, in modified form, into her novels; Aidan resurfaces as one of her characters, Wyatt, while Alfie reappears as her cat. With the latest Argylle novel, Rachel was about to reveal the whereabouts of the Masterkey to the world.
Aidan and Rachel travel to the Arabian Peninsula to retrieve the Masterkey, but are cornered by the Division. Ritter reveals that Rachel was a double agent and a loyal asset for the Division, and she offers to interrogate and shoot Aidan. She also locates Alfie, who she betrayed by sending the Masterkey to.
Aidan and Rachel fight their way through the facility, but Ritter is fatally shot after Rachel’s cat scratches out his eyes. Aidan and Rachel escape to a cargo ship to use the satellite connection to send the Masterkey. Ruth uses a mental trigger code to force her daughter to attack Aidan, but she is killed by Keira, a former CIA agent. Alfie receives the Masterkey transmission, and Aidan detonates the Division’s oil tanker headquarters.
Resuming her novelist persona, Rachel publishes her final Argylle novel, where at a reading, the real Argylle reveals himself, much to her shock and confusion. In a mid-credits scene, taking place twenty years earlier, a young Argylle is revealed to be a Kingsman agent, with the first novel being based on his life.
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