Critics Pan Argylle for Being “Exhausting” and “Generic”

Argylle hits theaters tomorrow, meaning audiences will finally have the chance to unravel the mystery of who is the real Agent Argylle.

If you are someone who has been eagerly anticipating another fun flick from Matthew Vaughn, the critics think you might need to lower your expectations.

The film is currently sitting on a rotten rating of 37% from 100 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics have been pulling apart its exhausting attempts to twist and turn its way into brilliance.

However, there's a pattern with critics panning films that audiences end up loving.

Vaughn's The King's Man has a rotten 40% but an audience score of 80%, so there's every chance Argylle may still do something for you.

Here's what they had to say.

Review roundup

• Observer: Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell deliver strong performances, and director Matthew Vaughn's flair for action sequences remains strong. But the roller coaster of plot twists sometimes drowns it all out.

• Vanity Fair: What went wrong here? It's probably just plain old exhaustion. Argylle marks the fifth film that Vaughn has made in this mode (I'm counting Kick-Ass), and he seems out of tricks.

• USA Today: The movie disappoints by fumbling away most of its wins and piling on double- and triple-crosses and other trappings of a bespoke espionage world.

• Hollywood Reporter: It all starts to feel like one of those very expensive, very elaborate commercials for a pseudo-luxury product you don't want to buy — a perfume perhaps, or some car.

• Digital Spy: What starts as a unique take on the spy genre ends up being a generic and overlong one.

You can check out our Argylle review here.