Review of Argo (2012) by Ben L — 02 Dec 2014

I was completely enchanted by the plot of this film. I knew only slightly about the historical events depicted here, mostly from school because I was a bit young when it actually happened. The idea that the CIA would come up with such a crazy/creative plan to sneak the refugees out was just too good to pass up. I decided to go despite the fact that I find Ben Affleck to be a below average actor at best. Well, the first thing I will say is that Ben Affleck didn't surprise me by suddenly becoming a great actor, his portrayal of agent Mendez was completely bland and flat. Luckily he was bailed out by a better supporting cast. John Goodman and Alan Arkin are the best actors of the bunch and they steal every scene in which they appear. The actors and actresses that play the refugees are great at expressing their utter terror, this helps build tension in some of the important scenes as the actors make their fears almost palpable.

The facts do seem a little sensationalized, but I kind of expected that from the outset. In order to make an engaging story it obviously became necessary to intensify certain moments. Yet, although they seemed to be taking some artistic liberties, you could sense that there was a desire to remain as faithful to the truth as possible. All you had to do was watch the credit sequence where they matched up photos from the actual historical events with the recreations from the film, and you could tell they wanted to make this movie feel authentic. Everything from the costumes to the sets felt right for the time. By the end I started to realize, maybe Ben Affleck should stick to the director's chair, because he's clearly better in that role.

One of the biggest challenges for historical movies of this type is managing to create tension for viewers who know the result. This film did that very well. I found myself on the edge of my seat several times quite literally. Now my wife did not know the way events played out in real life, so the tension was even more intense for her. She grabbed my arm and held it nervously a couple times, and at one point she hid her eyes because she couldn't bear to watch. Upon reflection I'm even more impressed how this film managed to create all that suspense when, in actuality, not much happened in the movie. The tension was completely in the thought of what MIGHT happen. The film also did a good job of reminding viewers regularly of the potential outcome in order to maintain that intensity. However, despite the successful mood they created in the movie, there still wasn't enough going on to keep me totally engaged. Add in the bad acting from the lead, and I found Argo to be worth watching once, but certainly not a film I would be anxious to see again.