Argylle Director Reacts To Negative Reviews: “It Did Rattle Me”

Critics panned Argylle for being "exhausting" and "generic" when it hit theaters earlier this year, and now director Matthew Vaughn has spoken up on how those negative reactions had him feeling.

Argylle , written by Jason Fuchs, hit theaters in February and follows the reclusive Elly Conway, an author of espionage novels who swiftly realizes the plot of her new book is mirroring real-world events in real time.

The film scored a 33% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews panning it for its nonsensical approach, as well as its extended run time and lack of originality.

In a new interview with Empire Magazine , Matthew Vaughn opened up for the first time about his reaction to the reception of the film, admitting it was disappointing to hear people's negativity.

"My guard came down on Argylle . We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well," he said. "I started drinking the Kool-Aid."

Vaughn was quickly brought back down to Earth when the critics got their hands on his film.

"We didn't make Citizen Kane , but f*****g hell, then the reviews came out and I'm like, 'Wait, what have I done to offend these people?' They were vitriolic," Vaughn said. "I'm not saying the movie's perfect by any means, but I didn't think it was offensive. That took me by surprise."

He told Empire, "It did rattle me", and said, "I'm genuinely scratching my head about that, because you can't ignore it. It wasn't like [just] a few bad reviews."

Argylle had a $200 million production budget and barely scraped back half at the box office but the film appears to be finding its audience digitally as Vaughn told Empire, "We're doing very well on streaming".