Argo think about watching this movie...

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2012)

Glad I watched this movie...it had gotten some good reviews but I can't say I was excited to watch it. It concerns the true* story of a C.I.A. backed attempt to rescue diplomatic staff in Iran, during the "Iran hostage crisis" of 1979. The diplomatic staff were not hostages, but their lives were in grave danger if they could not get out of Iran.
Ben Affleck plays Tony Mendez, the C.I.A. operative assigned the task of coming up with a less bad scheme to rescue the U.S. embassy's diplomatic staff, who managed to escape the Iranian mob invasion of the U.S. embassy.
Having missed most of the introductory narration to the movie, it felt as though the reasons for the Iranians anger towards the U.S.A. was too glib...easily dismissed as slogans/rhetoric by radicals. However, making a point of catching the next session of the movie to see the full introductory prelude to the movie, that impression was rectified. In an objective narratorial voice, the circumstances of the mob's invasion of the U.S. embassy are provided...at least the historical context is. This kind of information occasionally makes it in to Hollywood type movies nowadays...with films like "Three kings", for example. The historical circumstances are debatable, but at least they're provided. Taking a position on this, one could say that the movie is about what can happen when corporate rights, coupled with the rights to resources come into conflict with human rights...bad things happen.
Personally, not being that familiar with the Iran hostage crisis, I'd say that some more historical information would have interested me. For instance, I have seen reported that Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan played politics with the American hostages for his own political gain...i.e. he sought to have the release of the hostages delayed until after the presidential election in order to secure the presidency by making the Democrat president, Jimmy Carter, appear impotent in the face of intimidation. As president, Reagan also gave weapons to these 'terrorists' in exchange for the hostages (the "arms-for-hostages" story). None on this historically interesting stuff is mentioned in the movie, so it's more of a Hollywood style movie, in that sense.
Ben Affleck gives a highly unusual performance as the mastermind of the rescue. One cricket writer once said of the English captain David Gower that he "was so relaxed as to be comatose". I don't mean that as a criticism of Affleck. He does, however, make "understated" look like the height of "camp melodrama" by comparison. It's such an unusual performance that I would think it appropriate for him to be in the short list for Best Actor awards. Wouldn't think he would win it. His character seems to have anti-freeze running through his veins! Also oddly, in one scene Affleck looks quite buff...he had a Chuck Norris look about him before that, but that just solidified the impression...you almost expect him to whip out the nunchucks at some point!
The power of the mob is effectively conveyed in the opening scenes. Even though this is a good movie, it seems to me that as a viewer I merely understood the drama in the movie rather than felt it as viscerally as I did the mob scenes. The end part of the movie is more effective at creating real drama for the viewer...although sometimes it feels cliché and put-on, as in the scene with the embassy staff in a motor vehicle heading for freedom. In that scene I just thought "You have got to be kidding me!".
There does seem to be an element of ticking off dot points in the drama too. Some of these work well though, as in how someone who knows the embassy staff's whereabouts will respond to those Iranians who might seek to harm them. That was nicely handled.
Even though this is a serious drama, it does have quite a bit of humour in it too. Perhaps the humour can be too self-conscious at times too, e.g. referencing possible roles Ben Affleck may have been discussed for. Anyway, such in-jokes didn't really detract from the movie for me.
I did see "Breaking bad" star Bryan Cranston in the movie, but didn't immediately recognise him, as he seemed much older in this movie. Some of the embassy staff also reminded me of Tobias Fünke (Arrested development), Bargearse (Bluey, via The Late Show) and a 1970s porn star (well, what I'd imagine a 1970s porn star would look like!).
* Well, some Canadians have made a point of saying that the movie is more a work of fiction and that Canadians are the real stars of the real events the movie was based on.