This is the best bad idea we have

Rating: 9/10 (22 November 2012)

The story behind Argo is so extraordinary that it hard to believe and that it couldn't be made up. But it is history and after making two successful Boston set crime thrillers, Ben Affleck has stepped out his comfort zone to make a historic spy thriller.
In 1979 the Iranian Shah has been overthrown by the Islamic Revolution and the American is the Great Satan for their support for the dictator. The American Embassy is under siege and on 4th November the Iranians overtake the embassy and hold the Americans hostage. But six Americans escape before the invasion and find sanctuary at the Canadian ambassador's (Victor Garber) home. In Washington D.C. the CIA and State Department have few options to get the Americans out: they cannot use the usual cover identity of journalists, charity workers and English teachers. One expert at extracting people, Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with an unconventional way of extraction, pretend the Americans are all part of an Canadian film crew on a location scout and goes to Hollywood to form a fake production company.
Affleck has already shown himself to be a skilled director and Argo shows he is one of the best thriller directors around. Argo is different to his previous two films and Affleck was able to balance the tension and thrills with healthy amount of humour, satirising Hollywood and Washington. One of my favourite scenes that shows this is the fake film has a press conference intercut with the Americans in Iran watching an Iranian spokeswoman and Jimmy Carter making a speech. Alan Arkin supplied plenty of humour as the guff, old film producer, but it was never his expense. Bryan Cranston also has some fun lines. But for the most part the film is serious and the stakes as people's lives are on the line and there is every chance the Iranians can find. In the background the Iranians are reconstructing documents that can show who the missing Americans are and their counter intelligence operation is always on the go.
Argo is filled with period detail and does an excellent job blending a realistic spy operation and how the CIA operates with a more outrageous operation. It makes an interesting counter to piece to the Bond and Bourne series and the very realistic Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. This is a film that shows a CIA operation is all about the details, making sure there are no holes in cover stories, all the documentation is correct, etc. There is no gun play and the whole point is the CIA are trying to avoid any conformation, especially any situation could lead to a war.
I am personally a history, politics and spy nut, so this film was always going to appeal to me. The spying preparations were interesting but some of the moments I really enjoyed was some of the discussions between the characters, particularly the Americans in Iran about what's happening: it felt very real and nature, like there people really living in the time period, not a screenplay benefiting from hindsight.
Whilst the film is strong throughout the story does take a few liberties, namely making out Britain and New Zealand in Iran were useless when they were involved in the operation and nor showing Canadian Intelligence's part in the operation when in reality they must have been involved seeing it involved their ambassador. Also the final third of the film felt like everything that can go wrong will go wrong, building up the tension. But it all felt a bit too fault when so much bad stuff is happening, when the characters' nerves would have enough to build the tension.
Argo is a very enjoyable adult film that is deserving of its steady box-office success. It should get a few Oscar nominations and it does entertain.