Argylle ★★½

IT HAD to happen eventually…British director Matthew Vaughan has made a bad film.

Well, not necessarily a bad film, just nowhere near as good as the other seven he has made since debuting with Layer Cake in 2004.

Vaughan is best known for his three Kingsman films which have all been entertaining and enjoyable Bond-esque romps.

His new action comedy Argylle is not.

At best, it’s messy and derivative and saved only by a good performance from the ever-reliable Sam Rockwell.

But at worst, it careers off the rails with a story that generates more groans than laughs or thrills.

The first act set-up is interesting, even though you’ve seen the same set-up in a few recent films with a young, female author becoming caught up in a real spy drama due to the content of her latest novel.

In fact, the initial sequence is a copy of the opener from 2022’s The Lost City with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.

Novelist Elly Conway is played by Bryce Dallas Howard while Rockwell plays the real-life spy who drags her kicking and screaming into the world of espionage.

There are plenty of other ‘names’ in the cast but none make an impact apart from Dua Lipa in a very minor role.

There are some decent action sequences, but even those have moments that will make your eyes roll.

Watched at the cinema