It's been a second since we've appropriated "star-studded cast" on a movie that doesn't involved superheroes. Not since Oppenheimer, The French Dispatch, and no, we didn't forget—Don't Look Up (we didn't say this was a list of good movies). Starring Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), and a longer glimpse of John Cena (The Suicide Squad) and Dua Lipa than we got in Barbie, the Universal Pictures/Apple TV+ collab looks almost exciting enough to make us forget a writer's strike was happening for five months.
Anyway. The fiction-to-reality plot where titular agent Argylle comes straight out of the novels of reclusive author Elly Conway inevitably draws parallels to Lost City (ha! Another stacked bill), but at the helm of Matthew Vaughn, we're definitely expecting more of a Kingsman vibe. The director has however, described the film as an ode to '80s action movies Lethal Weapon and Die Hard.
There are other big names adding to the headliner, of course. Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) plays Aidan, the real-life spy who protects Elly, joined by Samuel L Jackson (Secret Invasion)'s character. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) is the film's currently unnamed villain, and we get to see Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek) as Elly's mother.
We can't not talk about it. It's not the first time we've seen Cavill involved in international espionage on the big screen, but it's certainly a first in Bart Simpson-esque glory. A great departure from Geralt of Rivia, the only viable explanation for that ridiculous hairstyle lies in the cover design of the fictional books. And upon further digging, a possible allusion to his name, after the Scottish argyle diamond pattern. Either way, we're not mad about it. The odder the hair, the better the performance.
The adorable cat Alfie is played by Chip, owned by Vaughn's wife Claudia Schiffer.
Argylle is slated to be in theatres 2 February 2024 and later for online streaming on Apple TV+.
