Oppressive Atmosphere Places You in 1970s Iran

Rating: 7/10 (13 October 2012)

Argo creates a tight, oppressive, pressurized atmosphere that stayed with me long after the lights went up. Affleck plays the CIA operative tasked with rescuing 6 Americans in Iran during the hostage crisis of the 70s. His understated performance is pitch perfect. John Goodman and Alan Arkin are great as the Hollywood counterparts that help Affleck pull off his cover story, and surprisingly the movie has some really funny one-liners. Byran Cranston is also phenomenal, as is the rest of the top-notch cast. While pacing slowed in a few places, it didn't take long to pick back up in each case. A nice touch at the end was seeing the photos of the real life hostages and players juxtaposed against the actors who played them.
The movie was a little different than what I was expecting, however. I expected a "nail biting, action thriller" that I assumed -- knowing how the story ends -- would leave me feeling triumphant or at least feeling good. Instead, (and in a way this is to the movie's credit), the atmosphere it created was so oppressive that I was left in a negative mood, even though the film has a positive ending (since it is based on a true story I don't think that's giving anything away). If you equate oppression and pressure with "a thriller" and "action" then I guess you might see it different. In any case there are worse ways to spend ten bucks plus.
It's a solid 7.5 stars for me, but not a movie I would watch twice.