How to stream spy thriller Argylle in the UK

Fresh from helming the Kingsman franchise, filmmaker Matthew Vaughn has a new mission for us all in his new Apple TV+ spy thriller Argylle — and it’s full of twists and turns.

Gathering a starry cast, the Kick Ass director brings his eye for slick and stylish fight scenes to the nail-biting arena of globe-trotting espionage in an adventure that plays fast and loose with the rules and features a cameo from pop star Dua Lipa.

What else do we know? Well, read on to discover all the key details about Argylle that’ll help you with your latest mission — you know, your mission to watch it. It’s a pretty low-stakes mission, to be fair.

How can I stream Argylle in the UK?

Ready to uncover the secrets of Argylle from the comfort of your own sofa? The spy film will be streaming on Apple TV+ from Friday, 12 April.

It originally swung into UK cinemas on Thursday, 1 February.

What are the Argylle reviews like?

The cat is out of the bag as Matthew Vaughn’s twisty-turny Argylle is finally released. Plus, with reviews starting to pour in, audiences are able to get an idea of whether this spy thriller is a gun-toting hit or a not-so-secret dud.

The Independent pondered whether the rumours were true and music megastar Taylor Swift was actually behind the film’s plot in their middling, lukewarm evaluation but The Guardian wasn’t as easily swayed. “It has all the interest of a men’s magazine cover-shoot,” said Peter Bradshaw, “thin, flimsy, lumbered with a dull meta-narrative and dodgy acting, and boasting a blank parade of phoned-in cameos from the supporting cast.”

The Telegraph was equally direct, saying: “The action is slapstick-driven, yet the set-pieces are all so transparently bogus – with fourth-rate CGI and actors’ digital doubles flopping about the place like haunted marionettes.” Meanwhile, Total Film said the film is left “wobbling unevenly between self-awareness and self-satisfaction” and “never as fast or funny as it thinks it is.”

Read full reviews below.

The Independent: Taylor Swift is all over this silly spy romp (which she may or may not have secretly written) (3-min review)

The Guardian: Unbearably self-satisfied smirk of a spy caper from Matthew Vaughn (3-min read)

The Telegraph: Henry Cavill’s horrendous spy romp has some of the stupidest action scenes you’ll ever see (3-min read)

Total Film: Matthew Vaughn's well-cast romp lacks focus (2-min read)

Is there a trailer for Argylle?

The first Argylle trailer was released in September 2023 and wasted no time pulling the rug out from under us. It plunges viewers head-first into the midst of a spy thriller, where our hero — the chiselled sleuth Argylle — is in the middle of beating up a new set of bad guys.

That’s when things get a little strange.

Switching gears, we realise that the action we’ve been enjoying is all a work of fiction, penned by a popular fiction author who — as we soon discover — has a knack for predicting spy activity before it happens.

Cue action.

What is the plot of Argylle?

Argylle mixes reality with fiction both on-screen and off.

In it, we meet Elly Conway, the interaction-shy writer behind a popular series of novels that follow Argylle, a super-spy who spends his days travelling the world and putting a stop to nefarious plans.

Conway’s quiet life is suddenly thrown into disarray when she meets Aiden, a seemingly unassuming train passenger who turns out to be a real-life spy — one that needs Conway’s help.

As it turns out, her stories have the uncanny ability to predict real-life spy missions — and when an evil syndicate catches wind of this, it means trouble for Conway and her poor little cat Alfie.

To make matters even more meta, Conway is also the name of the real-life author behind the book upon which Vaughn’s movie is based.

Considering how many explosions and gunshots we see in the movie’s trailers, hopefully, that’s where the real-world comparisons end.

Who is in the cast of Argylle?

Vaughn’s movie will bring fictional Conway’s book characters to life, with former Superman Henry Cavill playing Bond-esque hard-man Argylle, complete with a very distinct (and tall) haircut that makes him look a little like an Action Man toy.

Joining him in his film-within-the-film world are John Cena and Dua Lipa, the pop star who recently made her acting debut with a cameo in Barbie.

Meanwhile, Jurassic World’s Bryce Dallas Howard will play Conway in the real world, with Moon actor Sam Rockwell playing Aiden, the train passenger who quickly reveals himself to be an actual secret agent.

Shifting to reality, we’ll also meet Catherine O’Hara as Conway’s writing-critical mother, Samuel L. Jackson in a role that looks to be on Aiden’s side and Bryan Cranston as Ritter, a man who seems a bit too keen to get his hands on Conway’s latest chapter.

Elsewhere, we can expect comedian and Catastrophe star Rob Delaney, Crazy Rich Asians actor Jing Lusi and Rebel Moon’s Sofia Boutella to also pop up.

To top it all off, Argylle also features a performance from a cat named Chip who is central to the movie’s plot and owned by supermodel and Vaughn’s wife, Claudia Schiffer in real life.

Argylle is streaming on Apple TV+ from Friday, 12 April