Long after shaking away the shackles of the DCEU, Henry Cavill embarked on a new outlook with a slew of projects of which Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle came as the first. The meta James Bond-esque movie gathered immense hype surrounding itself for kick-starting a new action spy thriller franchise. However, in terms of marking a solid debut, it appears to have met bumpy grounds en route with a debut critical score taking the actor back to the ruins of Zack Snyder.

With barely a couple of days to go before the movie releases in the US, first-hand reviews from other regions have already landed it to an unpleasant consensus.

Argylle debuts to reality as the Henry Cavill starrer lands critical analysis

Argylle saw a staggered release with countries like France and Indonesia getting to relish it on 31st January with the UK to follow on the 1st of February before it dropped in the US a day later. Pitched to be at least a trilogy of movies, the movie with Henry Cavill as the lead, Agent Argylle, debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 39% score. While it did not take away the mantle as the lowest-rated flick by the British actor, it did sit alongside 2017’s Justice League, with the same score.

Critics pointed out glaring flaws in the Matthew Vaughn directorial, including inconsistent CGI, flat dialogues, and an eventual let-down towards the end. While some hailed the acting by Henry Cavill and top-of-the-class action sequences, others had less positive opinions to say surrounding the full feature-film acting debut of Dua Lipa. Incidentally, the tide of score decreased further ahead with the movie dropping to 32% at the time of writing. Regardless, its meta aspect and twists still found enough mention to suffice for a good watch.

The downturn in reviews comes as a sharp blow for the director who carries ambitious plans for the franchise.

Matthew Vaughn plans to merge the franchise with the Kingsman universe

At a time when many questions centered around the rather odd hairstyle of Henry Cavill in Argylle, Matthew Vaughn unleashed his broader vision. The director has plans to merge the upcoming franchise with the Kingsman movies alongside a third yet-unnamed one. The triad will then serve as a connected bridge to a spy-action universe of his making, with him playing the ultimate decision-maker.

Unfortunately, in sharp contrast to Argylle, Kingsman: The Secret Service, the first of the franchise still stands with a revered 75% rating on the same platform. While the score may soon change as more viewers grace the screen, the film, as a whole, stands very much watchable, with its intrigue game still strong as per the reviews.

What are your reactions to Argylle debuting with 39% on Rotten Tomatoes? Let us know in the comments below.