Secret spy Agent Argyle (Henry Cavill) and his team are burned by their boss Fowler (Richard E. Grant), which is soon revealed to be part of the latest novel by author Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). On a train journey to meet her mum Ruth (Catherine O’Hara) to go over her final novel’s ending, Elly meets an actual spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who explains that Elly is in danger due to her uncanny knack of predicting real-world espionage happenings!

Director Matthew Vaughn of The Kingsman franchise is at it again, albeit from another point of view. The hyper-stylised world of Agent Argyle takes the mickey out of the blockbuster spy genre while using all of its tropes, especially casting the very Bond-like Henry Cavill. Conversely, protagonist Elly is as far away from an adventurer as one can get: a socially awkward and anxious author who hides from the world safely behind her keyboard with her cat Alfie. It is only with the appearance of real-life spy Aidan that Elly starts on a hero’s journey of self-discovery, where fact and fiction start to unravel.

The movie is indulgent in its ensemble cast, run-time, and budget, and hosts Vaughn’s penchant for comic-book shenanigans with a quirky, perverse sense of humour and a story that keeps you on your toes!

Verdict: While the movie is considered a box-office bomb, fans of Vaughn and movies such as Romancing the Stone (1984) and The Lost City (2022) will have a great time here!

4 stars.

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net.