Argo is the true story of the Iran hostage controversy of 1980. It was directed by Ben Affleck who also played the lead role of Tony Mendez – the CIA operative who conceived of and executed the mission. The mission? Create a fictional movie to use as a smoke screen to get six Americans out of Iran. The execution of this film? Spot on!

Story: Well, since it’s a true story, I can’t much criticize the facts. But, as with all true- stories-turned-motion-picture, I can assess the interpretation and I say, well done Ben Affleck!

It was amazingly accurate, but, managed to be funny at the same time. There were also light references to popular culturalisms of the time, like, the Return to the Planet of the Apes. And a brief historical tutorial in the beginning about the Shah of Iran and the Ayatollah helped put everything in perspective for the telling of the story. They even managed to capture the suspense attached to the mission. There’s a point at which the situation is so tense, you’ll want to jump out of your seat and run for them…

And I can’t forget about the fluid references, one-liners and jabs at Hollywood, Los Angeles and the movie industry in general. Hilarious and again, spot on…

Performances: Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Bryan Cranston were fantastic. In fact, every performance in this film was fantastic. The “six” as they were called, were perfectly cast and delivered flawless performances. I think because of the importance of this time period, this film and these performances are sure to get Oscar attention if not a nomination or two.

Visual: I don’t know how many times I can say SPOT ON! But, I think this is the area that deserves it the most. The cars, the locations, the wardrobe, the props – Ben Affleck’s character stopped at a McDonald’s at some point and the packaging was clearly of the time. Every detail counts when you want to be the best and they didn’t miss a single detail. Even the plane looked like 1980. Very well done…

Rating: Argo gets an A from me. Ben Affleck and his team manage to take an extremely sensitive subject, keep it factual and make it funny too – no laugh track inserted… 🙂 I will admit that I was reluctant to see this movie for fear that it would be dark and depressing like Midnight Express, but it wasn’t. When Oscar season rolls around, I’m sure we’ll be hearing Argo in conversation – maybe even best direction and a best performance in there somewhere too. Stay tuned…

Interim, go see Argo. You’ll walk away wondering how it is you found a laugh in a hostage situation, got pushed to the edge of your seat and also walked away with a new catch phrase… You’ll have to see the movie to find out what it is… 🙂