Disappointing 'Argyle' a clear case of style over substance

We are now one month into 2024, and I hope January is not emblematic of the movies we can expect for the rest of the year. "Argylle" was supposed to be the crown jewel of January.I was expecting a lot from the film. The trailers were intriguing and original. Alas, the trailers turned out to be better than the film.Argylle (Henry Cavill) is a secret agent. He is bold and brash. He has no problem walking into the lair of his quarry, Lagrange (Dua Lipa) and asking her to dance. After all, he is supported by teammates Wyatt (John Cena) and Keira (Ariana DeBose).Yes, Agent Argylle feels like he can do no wrong.Unfortunately, Agent Argylle isn't real. He's a character in a series of novels by Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). Elly is a somewhat reclusive, lonely novelist whose only constant companion is Alfie — her cat. Elly lives for her work. She has created an iconic character, even if Argylle lives only in Elly's imagination. Or so she thought.Elly is stumped on how to end her fifth Argylle book. She's struggling a tad, so she decides to take Alfie on a little trip to visit her mom, Ruth (Catherine O'Hara). On the train (Elly is terrified of flying), she meets an eccentric man by the name of Aidan (Sam Rockwell). Aidan is a big fan of Elly's. He's also an actual spy.Aidan explains to Elly that what she wrote in her novels actually came true. She is somehow predicting geopolitics with an unerring accuracy. Because she seems to know what will happen before it does, there are multiple espionage agencies that want to enlist her assistance. With her help or against her will. The choice is hers.The description of the plot above is only about 30 minutes of the film. The problem is that it's by far the most entertaining portion of the movie.The premise sounds good, making you wonder what is happening and wanting to know how Elly can predict world events by writing about a fictional spy. After this interesting beginning, the movie is all downhill."Argylle" is supposed to be funny. It's not. The movie is supposed to be cool and edgy. It's not. The film is supposed to be clever, intriguing and entertaining. It's none of those three.The movie goes off the rails (pun intended) after the best scene of the film on a train.Obviously, the movie is at least somewhat of a parody of the spy genre. Still, the action that takes place is completely ludicrous and unbelievable, and not in a good way. There are two action scenes that occur near the end of the film that are two of the most inane, most over-the-top, worst action scenes that I have ever seen. I won't describe them here, but if you watch the movie, they aren't hard to spot.Henry Cavill is somewhat limited in his role due to the character he plays, but that's not necessarily his fault. To the extent that there is anything mildly amusing in the film, it's due to the self-deprecating way Sam Rockwell plays Aidan. Bryce Dallas Howard can easily play the Elly Conway present on the screen for the first half of the movie, but when the character changes, it illustrates how horribly miscast she is in this role.Apparently, I was expecting too much from "Argylle," but I have heard very few good things about the movie from others as well. If you still want to see the movie, "Argylle" will be better as a home rental.Grade: CRated PG-13 for strong violence and action and some strong language.•••Bradley Griffith is a local attorney and a lifelong movie buff.