Movie Review: Argo

When a movie starts getting Oscar buzz it means it meets certain requirements that the academy looks for.  Argo is a movie that’s been getting all this buzz going in and it has one requirement that is evident from the get go, its a movie that puts America as a victim during war times putting you in the foot steps of a hero.    If you know what happened during this tough times in Iran you’ll be aware how this ends out.  What you won’t know is how they pulled it out.  And that’s exactly what this movie is about.     Its well directed, acted and shot.   Music is good, artistically its well done and it does what a movie needs you to, it takes you away from reality and immerses you in a world that isn’t here making you feel as if though you were inside it.

Ben Affleck is a well rounded artist.  He acts, writes and directs.  He does it all pretty well and this is a great example of what he does when he’s at his best.  Argo is one of his best movies as a director.  As an actor I wouldn’t say so, but he definitely does a good job pulling out Mendez, a complicated character who is looking to get six americans out of a country that is looking for them to hang them.    Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad proves he is much more than Walter White showing how versatile he can be.  Most TV actors fall in to two categories, the ones who stay on TV and the ones who are suited for the silver screen.  Bryan fits the latter.   All in all Argo is brilliantly cast and this brings the movie to the level it needs to be to be considered in the award season.

The story centers in a time of turmoil in the Middle East, Iran is having political issues with the US and people are letting them know their distress by rushing in the US Embassy and taking workers hostage.   Six manage to escape and hide at the Canadian Ambassador’s House.  This brings a serious international problem for Americans and Canadians alike as they need to get these people out before Iranians discover they’re hiding in another country’s political representative’s home.  This could bring a more intense world wide problem to the table, and considering the Cold War was going on full throttle, they had to deal with this as soon as possible.

From here on the movie becomes a tense hide and seek CIA mission, keeping the audience at the edge of their seats until the end credits roll.  It’s a very fun movie that is well made.   Does it deserve the accolades its getting?  Depends how you see it.  To me it’s another american CIA hero movie, its well made, well acted and that’s about it.  No surprises, zero originality.    Do I think it can win an Oscar for Best Picture?  Yes, but it probably won’t.  Its not original enough to warrant an award of this caliber.   I like it in other categories, but I just don’t think its the complete package.  Its fun, its intriguing, but its based on a real life event we are well aware of.   The Argo Mission is something that was kept secret for a long time, and if you didn’t know about it, i’m sure it was ruined by the trailers (this is what I hate about movie trailers these days, they give out too much).   If you haven’t seen the trailers, then you are in for a treat.     I enjoyed it, it was fun.  It was just not great.

SCORE 7.8 out of 10.0