Well crafted but no suspense

Rating: 4/10 (13 October 2012)

Unlike other viewers, I actually found this movie almost totally without suspense, but of course I remember the hostage crisis quite well. As always, I despise the hand-held camera bits, the picture jerking around and the colors swirling in confusion. This, I understand, is how the director achieves "believability". There is no one character, or even a couple, you can focus on and root for. No involvement, in other words. Cardboard cutout characters lead to cardboard character audiences - i.e., me. I did enjoy the first five minutes, where a brief history of Iran in the years after WWII were shown. That ought to educate some of the younger people who can't figure out why the Iranis and Iraqis and other Nid-Easterners hate us so. More younger people should see that portion of the film, even if they see nothing else.