Review: Argo (2012)

★★★★☆

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman

❝ IF I'M GOING TO MAKE A FAKE MOVIE, IT'S GOING TO BE A FAKE HIT. ❞

Synopsis: When the US embassy in Iran is raided by militants, six fugitive American diplomatic personel escape and find refuge in the Canadian ambassador's home. The CIA and Canadian government work together in order to safely and discreetly extract the fugitives from Iran by constructing a fake movie and claiming they are part of the production company for the film. Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), an expert exfiltration specialist heads the operation and carries the weight of the responsibility for these six lives. 

Argo is everything people have been saying it is - electric, intense and absolutely thrilling. The build up towards finally getting the six Americans out of Iran was excellently paced, giving you enough time to learn about Mendez's character. His two worlds, the personal and the professional welded together seamlessly and effortlessly, delivering us powerful scenes of the emotional trauma and implications of the operation. The script was packed with memorable quotes and the comedy relief set at the right times. Whilst the pace and thrill were constructed masterfully, the only part of the film that let me down was the acting - which is something I really need to get attached and drawn into the film. That's not to say it was bad, but it was average - these aren't performances of a lifetime, and as Ben pointed out earlier, no one was crying out that he was snubbed for Best Actor. If they had invested a litte more for each character, I think this could have been a knockout and the one to beat at the Oscars. As it stands, it's still completely open but Argo has it's foot in the door and is definitely not going to leave empty handed.