Review of Argo (2012) by Gavin S — 02 Feb 2014

Very solid, and great suspense for a movie based on real events. Affleck is becoming a pretty good director, and his acting here takes a step forward too. Surrounding himself with the likes of Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and more doesn't hurt either.

As a Canadian, the events here give me a sense of pride, laugh if you will but it's true. It's a difficult thing taking a true story and making it into entertainment while not disrespecting the events.

Spielberg is the master, and Affleck has taken notes (in fact, he beat out the former's 'Lincoln' for Best Picture). The humour comes from the set up of the fake movie 'Argo' and Arkin/Goodman are about the only laughs in the film (which isn't really a funny matter) and keeps this from being a complete bog-down like Zero Dark Thirty (emphasis on the DARK).

The mood is well established, the scene driving through the bazaar in the van is terrifically tense, as is the airport scene. Affleck is no Hitchcock, but there's some tension/suspense there that the master would have enjoyed.

All in all, a great achievement, and compared to the other nominees (of which I saw: Lincoln, Beasts..., Django, Pi, Zero) the only one that was as good was Lincoln.