Matthew Vaughn is responding to the heavy criticism his film Argylle received.
The film starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard was not well-received by film critics and the box office, and the director is weighing in on what happened.
“My guard came down on Argylle. We had done test screenings that had gone fantastically well. The premiere was a really fun night, and it was like going back to the Snatch days where there was such excitement. And I started drinking the Kool-Aid,” he said in an interview with Empire magazine.
He continued, “It’s a fun, feel-good movie, or I thought it was a fun, feel-good movie. We didn’t make Citizen Kane, but f***ing hell, then the reviews came out and I’m like, ‘Wait, what have I done to offend these people?’ They were vitriolic. I’m not saying the movie’s perfect by any means, but I didn’t think it was offensive. That took me by surprise.”
Shocked by the reception Argylle was receiving, Vaughn admits he went around to movie theaters thinking, “Maybe I’ve lost the plot now,” adding, “It did rattle me. I’m genuinely scratching my head about that, because you can’t ignore it. It wasn’t like [just] a few bad reviews. It is what it is. You learn from these things.”
Argylle has now made over $96M on a reported budget of $200M. Although it wasn’t a box office success, Vaughn says the film is “doing very well on streaming.”
“People are liking it. Nothing would make me happier than making another one. I’m getting texts saying, ‘Wow, those reviews were fucking harsh!’ The more we can get people to watch Argylle, the more chance we make another one. I’d love to make another one, we’ve got it planned,” he said and also teasing the potential prequel with young Argylle.
“It’ll make a good little movie. We’ll see,” he adds. “Never say never.”