Ben Affleck at his Finest

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2012)

A story that, for many Americans, will forever be a distant memory. For others, a fresh memory that is taught to us and brought to life on the big screen. I am too young to remember when the six disappeared in Iran, but "Argo" puts the story on the big screen and gives a cinematic view point to the story. Is it 100% accurate? Maybe, who knows. No matter what, this movie is based on history.
In 1979, the United States had an embassy in Iran, during a period of Iran's history consisting of much change and great turmoil. At the center of that turmoil was the United States, blamed for providing refuge for a leader which most Iranians wanted executed on their soil. They were furious that the United States was allowing this man to live out his days, dying of cancer, comfortably and without fear in the States. All this anger and hostility towards Americans had to be channeled somewhere. And channeled it was. The Iranian people attacked and stormed the American embassy in 1979, taking dozens of American hostages. It was their hope to trade the hostages for the leader in refuge on American soil. What the Iranians did not know was that six Americans escaped the embassy as it was being stormed and sought a hiding place with the Canadian consulate. The CIA sent in their best man to rescue the six escapees, a man by the name of Tony Mendez (played by Ben Affleck). In order to get himself into Iran, Tony devised, with his boss Jack O'Donnell (played by Bryan Cranston), a plan to fake a movie which would be filmed in Iran, with himself acting as one of the producers of the film, and the six escapees being part of the film crew. In order to make the cover story legit, Tony gets the help of famous film executives Lester Siegel (played by Alan Arkin) and John Chambers (played by John Goodman). These four men work their hardest to rescue the six escapees, but the question on everyone's mind until the of the movie is: Will is work?
Ben Affleck has had some real duds over the last decade or so, Daredevil, Paycheck, and Gigli, being a few. But his role in "Argo" is by far the best of his career. He, along with cast members John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston, does a great job of really portraying serious danger and drama, while at the same time using perfectly timed humor to lighten the overall mood of the film, without cheapening the story or the movie. This movie is by far a drama, but the comedy that is thrown into the mix makes it an incredibly enjoyable movie to watch. This is not a movie for the kids, but a great date night movie if you're tired of chick flicks. In the words of Tony Mendez, "Argo f*** yourself!" A+