In a surprising turn of events, Matthew Vaughn’s latest cinematic venture, Argylle, is facing a tough start with a record-low score on Rotten Tomatoes, just ahead of its big-screen debut. The film kicks off with a disappointing 37%, earning the label “rotten” on the popular review aggregator site. This falls below Vaughn’s previous low point with The King’s Man in 2021, which managed a slightly better 40%. The only other Vaughn-directed film with a “rotten” tag is Kingsman: The Golden Circle from 2017, scoring 50%.
Rotten Tomatoes critics are not holding back on their negative assessments of Argylle. Barry Hertz from Globe and Mail doesn’t mince words, describing it as “one of the most chaotically stupid action movies to torture audiences in ages,” while Rolling Stone’s David Fear simply dubs it a “very, very bad movie.” Patrick Cavanaugh of ComicBook.com criticizes the film for being “overlong and uninspired,” lamenting its failure to make the most of its talented cast. IndieWire’s David Ehrlich suggests that the PG-13 rating works against the film, as Vaughn’s humor clashes with the rom-com energy of the script.
Despite the wave of critical negativity, there are a few dissenting voices. Maggie Lovitt from Collider finds Argylle to be “the perfect date movie, even if the date is with yourself.”
Argylle, under the direction of Matthew Vaughn and penned by Jason Fuchs, weaves a tale of a spy novelist (Bryce Dallas Howard) rescued by a secret agent (Sam Rockwell) when her life is in peril. As she discovers the blurred lines between fiction and reality with her fictional character (Henry Cavill), the film also features Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Dua Lipa, Louis Partridge, and Ariana DeBose. With the theatrical premiere looming, the film’s fate at the box office remains uncertain amid the critical backlash.
