Argo Review

Justin and I saw Argo on October 13, 2012. This was an excellent movie displaying the importance of cooperation between international governments to quell international problems. The events in this movie are inspired by a true story around the time of the Iran Hostage Crisis. This movie focuses on taking six American ambassadors out of Iran amidst a cover-up of a mock science fiction movie called Argo. I liked how the movie begins with a brief history lesson of how Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and how it affected Iran. The six ambassadors are taken in by the Canadian Ambassador, so the C.I.A. creates identities that they are a Canadian film crew. The movie definitely leaves you on the edge of your seat and you're invested in the characters from start to finish. It's up to Tony Mendez to extract them from Iran. With a team of C.I.A. personnel and Hollywood film makers, he is able to formulate his plan. Ben Affleck did an excellent job in the role of Tony Mendez as he is constantly battling to get his plan to succeed. I think the ensemble cast was awesome all around. In recent years, Affleck has had some great movies. The Town is one of the best movies I've seen from the last five years. He hit another homerun with this movie. Just like The Town, he also directed this. The rest of the cast is awesome: Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Clea Duvall, Tate Donovan, and Victor Garber to name a few. The scenes at the airport were amazing. These six ambassadors show what real fear would be like. Being in that situation will definitely cause emotional scars. The theater was packed. We were all wrapped up in the story and rooting for Mendez and the American six to escape the terror. The audience erupted into applause at the events and I even heard a few people crying which was awesome. Powerful movie!!! I also felt there were some legitimate comedic moments particularly with Goodman and Arkin. They had some great scene in Hollywood that blended nicely with the extreme dramatic nature of the Iran scenarios. The bottom of the screen also kept giving updates on what was going on with the hostage crisis in conjunction with the events of this movie, which actually happened. Now, I am sure there were some things that were done to make it more Hollywood, but this was a real event. That's what made this so powerful in my opinion. Also, it's great to see Clea Duvall in this. I have always been a fan of her and I feel she is a good actress that doesn't get enough credit. I have liked everything she has been in to date. I definitely feel this movie deserves a 5/5 for the excellent cast, great story with historical events, and brilliant dialogue.