Argylle Movie Review

As a big fan of spy cinema, particularly the vintage kind from the early days of James Bond, I’ve always liked what Matthew Vaughn was doing with his yarns. While many say he should direct an actual 007 film, it’s clear to me - as a fan of the genre - that Vaughn’s heart belongs to a bygone era in espionage movies. If the Kingsman movies were his gonzo, R-rated riff on the Roger Moore James Bond movies he grew up watching, Argylle is his tribute to the campy James Bond knockoffs that hit theaters in the late sixties. Imagine the 1967 all-star version of Casino Royale, mixed in with a hefty dose of the Our Man Flint series, with a hero - played by Sam Rockwell, who seems to be channelling Dean Martin’s take on the Matt Helm films, and you’ve got a wacky spy yarn that’s unwieldy, but also quite entertaining.