If you ever grind drama, suspense and a hint of comedy together you would definitely get a fully baked "Argo."

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2013)

If you ever grind drama, suspense and a hint of comedy together you would definitely get a fully baked "Argo." Argo explains the 1980s international conflict between Iran and USA, along with the intervention of Canada. During that period, a revolution broke out outside the US embassy in Iran as the Iranians urge the Americans to release their Iranian president so that they'd execute him themselves. Along the process, 6 employers in the embassy escaped this horrific attack and made refuge in the Canadian ambassador's house namely Ken Taylor played by the underrated Victor Garber. Wasting no time, the CIA wishes to retrieve the '6' by sending Tony Mendez played by actor/ director Ben Affleck; who disguises himself and the six, as ironic it may seem, as filmmakers.
This movie is associated with a journey of extreme classification and difficulty. The six and Tony are nothing but random workers six in an embassy and one in a CIA; they have neither the knowledge nor the training qualification that is adequate for such calibers of a mission. Tony is indeed a CIA agent but has no on field experience. Therefore their road to freedom should have a sense of "rookieness" and "incapability to continue further; and this is exactly how it is portrayed! The sprinkle of no professionalism and mistakes here and there was the icing on the cake. The rise of certain obstacles that they haven't anticipated or the initial refusal for the mission to commence added the "lifelike" impression to the movie; that, as a result, provided a pathway to bond with the characters and sequence of events! The viewers felt united with the six and Tony, the suspenseful "up and down" moments in the screenplay was well constructed for the viewers. When a problem had emerged I felt a need to solve it myself and satisfied when solved. This kind of bond; when the viewers relate with the characters, no matter how weak the story is you would have in your possession a remarkable movie. And this movie has a firm story and is indeed remarkable.
The thing that helped Ben Affleck's cause for a director nomination was the camera movement. It refrained from settle movements, but moved in briskness and suddenly, that satisfied the "up and down" movements in the script. That quick transition and movement to another character when he's talking and the quick change in scenes, made us feel that we are running with the characters; we are applying our full attention to the characters, as if we were in the room and could see all of them, that is how well the camera movements were.
However, once the coin is flipped, there are certain scenes that sparked a reminder to the viewers that this is indeed a movie. The minimization of the screen to show a shoot of the real life incident was really a breather from the chain of events and once the scene comes back to the movie we are back to the edge of our seats. This did not help out Ben Affleck's cause. He seemed daisy and did not plan out properly the introduction of shoots of real life, he grouped numerous shoots in the credits and sprinkled ones here and there throughout the course of the movie, if they were all in the credits, that would have been much better. When they were in the middle; between scenes, the viewers were comparing the situations of the real life and the movie, and remarked if at all they portrayed the scenes well. This suspenseful movie should not have breathers the breather should in the course of the events like the comedic scenes where Lester Siegel played by Alan Arkin gave moments of relaxation, and is still bonding with the movie.
Ben Affleck! How he showered me with awesomeness, and to pay him back I shower you with respect. To act and to direct yourself and others is not every director's cup of tea. But with Argo and the town he made into his daily morning "late to work" sip of tea! A best actor nomination you ask? Not to that extent, it was a great performance but not to be seated along the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Hugh Jackman. This movie earned itself 7 Oscar nominations, including best picture and original score.
If you're looking for a political roller-coaster then I suggest this movie and a sturdy chair that can withstand weight on the edge of it.