Overrated

Rating: 6/10 (28 July 2013)

I finally got to see this film when it came out on DVD. And my question, having done so, is: just what is all the fuss about?
I was still a callow youth when the actual events on which the movie is supposedly based happened, but I remember feeling really sorry for those taken hostage. But that's the problem with this film. I really didn't feel any connection at all with the 6 people shown being hidden in Iran by the Canadians, before being taken out under fake identities. The scene on the Swissair flight when it becomes clear they have actually got out is nice, but no more.
Most objectionable is the politics, with American heroism and ingenuity being talked up, the role of the Canadians being reduced to a supporting act, and the British, who also helped, not being mentioned at all.
There are some plus points. The acting is mostly good. The climactic scene as the Iranian authorities chase a jumbo jet along the runway at Tehran airport is fictitious and implausible, but exciting all the same. The music is effective.
When all's said and done, though, the film just doesn't deserve the awards it won– but, to be fair, I wouldn't give it any Razzies either.
Rating: 6/10