Is an icon really an icon if they haven’t a by-the-numbers biopic to their name? Perhaps not. It certainly seems that way this side of Bohemian Rhapsody. No doubt, the want for incisive commentary has somewhat petered. Hot on the heels of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, and just ahead of Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ode to Amy Winehouse, comes Bob Marley: One Love, from King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Phew, we can finally add the reggae preaching Rastafarian to Wikipedia. At last, he’s made it to perfunctory homage. You’ll learn next to nothing about the man himself here, of course, nothing you didn’t already know, but the tunes come thick and fast and there’s a lot of people saying ‘ye man’. Get that on the merch.
Contrary to popular belief, and in the face of dwindling commercial receipts, there are still a few terrific superhero films being made. Films like Blue Beetle, for instance. The sort you suspect would have performed much better had they enjoyed release back in the halcyon days of the early 2010s. Madame Web does not exist in this category. When it flops – and it will flop – superhero fatigue ain’t the reason. It is, let’s be very clear, not simply a rubbish comic book flick but a diabolical feature in its own right. There’s either a thrilling behind the scenes story here or Sony put way too much faith in the director of thirty-seven episodes of Doctors.
Argylle opens bad. Seriously bad. Dead-on-arrival bad. Offered up is all-star – Dua Lipa! John Cena! Superman! – Grecian espionage but one woefully written, dismally acted and laden with risible special effects. But, wait! What’s this? A story within a story? Now we’re talking. There’s hope yet. Hold on to it. Sure enough, the film that follows improves not merely on the first five minutes but much of its director’s recent work. Matthew Vaughn’s, until now, unstoppable descent into distaste finally desists for Argylle, an overlong but mercifully entertaining romp.
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