Review of Argo (2012) by Doctor S — 09 Jan 2014

"All the options are bad. It's about finding the best one.".

"You don't have a better bad idea than this?".

"This is the best bad idea we have, sir. By far.".

A very good film detailing a crazily ingenious rescue scheme, marred by two factors: leading man Ben Affleck's bland performance and a tendency to resort to Hollywood thriller cliches. Affleck again demonstrates skill behind the camera but has never been anything north of passable as an actor, which is unfortunate since the rest of the cast is terrific, particularly Alan Arkin, Scoot McNairy, and Bryan Cranston. Near misses and close calls heaped one upon the other during the exodus unnecessarily strain the believability. Luckily the complete immersion into the late 1970's put us right in their shoes, I'm glad they used real news footage to contextualize what was happening across the country and around the world. I really liked the inclusion of photos of the real people involved during the closing credits, demonstrating they went the extra mile to cast similar-looking actors. And to top it off, the final words we hear are from Jimmy Carter himself!

The story is incredible and the script has weight as well as quality quips, but in the big picture the fact is that while these 6 Americans were rescued, another 50 were still held hostage for another year. Zero Dark Thirty detailed a mission much more relevant to world history without glamorizing the details, and would've gotten my Oscar vote ahead of Argo. But, that movie didn't have my favorite line of the year, courtesy Bryan Cranston as a caution to Affleck before entering a meeting at the State Department:

"Brace yourself - it's like talking to the two old fucks on The Muppet Show.".