Argylle (2024)

Every twist in Argylle undoes the twist before it, until the movie is mostly a pile of reveals wearing a spy costume. It runs 139 minutes and feels every one of them. Bryce Dallas Howard plays Elly Conway, a shy author of spy novels about a slick agent named Argylle, and she’s stuck on book five. Then a real spy, Sam Rockwell’s Aidan, rescues her from an ambush on a train and tells her a shadowy outfit called the Division wants her gone, because her chapters keep predicting their moves. That’s a fun premise, and Rockwell plays it loose and goofy. Henry Cavill, billed first, plays the made-up hero of her books. The computer-made action gets glossier and emptier with every set piece. Critics gave it 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it made $96.2 million worldwide. A 3.6 because a clever idea drowns in its own cleverness. $860.14 says you finish a spy novel this year and catch yourself checking who’s sitting behind you on the train.

What works: Sam Rockwell is loose and funny as Aidan, and the idea of a homebody novelist dragged into her own plot is a good one.

What doesn’t: Too many twists cancel each other out, the runtime is bloated, and the glossy computer-made action looks weightless.

Who it’s for: Sam Rockwell fans and people who like their spy movies silly, long and packed with famous faces.