Matthew Vaughn's ARGYLLE starring Henry Cavill (2024) 0

[paperheart]

Imagine being able to throw away $200M at a clip and no one bats an eye

Via Deadline: After a few weeks without any studio wide releases, Apple Original Films‘ $200M Argylle via Universal is hoping to entice moviegoers back, but it won’t be in a big way. Last night’s previews for the PG-13 Matthew Vaughn directed action movie made $1.7M, which is below the $2.4M previews clocked by Amazon MGM’s The Beekeeper a few weeks ago. That movie posted a $16.5M opening, so any hope that Argylle will get to that $20M+ some exhibitors were seeing — I don’t think so.

Edited February 3 by paperheart

[paperheart]

when even Deadline can't put a positive spin on, you know it's bad

[Axelrod]

"Trying to be too cute for it's own good" would be my one sentence review. 

The lesson here may be that your audience will only follow you so far down the rabbit hole.  Feels like the (semi?) success of the Kingsman films may have gone to Vaughn's head just a little.  

I still like the way he shoots his actions scenes, and there's some fun stuff here, but I am also about 98% sure the plot of this movie doesn't make any sense at all.  I haven't actually tried to work my way back through it yet, but it suggests a kind of disrespect for one's audience.  i.e. "they won't care if it doesn't make any sense as long as we make it big and flashy enough.  They'll just go with it...."    

[Bosco685]

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 3/4/2024 at 7:26 AM, Bosco685 said:

 I enjoyed it, it doesn't fit in a frame of blockbuster, which I would struggle to define nowadays anyway  Well, except for maybe Dune. Maybe it was just a bit of: out of the box thinking. I wouldn't call it streamlined nor new, but a good book is like that  

 

Edited March 4 by ADAMANTIUM

[Bosco685]

On 3/4/2024 at 4:43 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

 I enjoyed it, it doesn't fit in a frame of blockbuster, which I would struggle to define nowadays anyway  Well, except for maybe Dune. Maybe it was just a bit of: out of the box thinking. I wouldn't call it streamlined nor new, but a good book is like that  

 

Saw it for myself last night. Not the horrible movie people are making it out to be. It is a typical Matthew Vaughn wild spy ride.

I think the big hurdle was too many story twists which with the general audience that would require more cerebral reflection than they are willing to invest time in. But also excessively purposely convoluted to the point it takes you out of thoroughly enjoying the zaniness of this story.

Still, better than I expected. And Henry Cavill is in this more than 5 minutes as he is a persona self-reflection for the lead character, and pops in repeatedly. Including that ending.

[Bosco685]

Quote

Matthew Vaughn recently opened up to Empire magazine about enduring some of the worst reviews of his career with “Argylle,” the $200 million star-studded spy comedy that flopped in theaters this year with $96 million worldwide. The film, backed by Apple and released theatrically by Universal, intended to start a franchise and starred Bryce Dallas Howard as a reclusive spy novelist thrust into a real world of espionage. Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cena and more co-starred.

 

“ yeah,” Vaughn responded when asked if the extremely negative “Argylle” reviews were disappointing to read. The movie has a 33% Rotten Tomatoes score from 292 reviews.

 

“We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well,” Vaughn said. “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. It’s a fun, feel-good movie, or I thought it was a fun, feel-good movie. We didn’t make ‘Citizen Kane,’ but 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.”

 

Edited June 3 by Bosco685

[KT Pendragon]

I enjoyed the beginning of the movie, but it felt really dragging towards the end. The amount of green screen is quite noticeable, which took away from the immersion for me. The plot had potential, but it could have been executed better. Overall, it had its moments, but it didn't fully live up to my expectations.