Spy Thriller Fiction Movie Inspired by a True Event

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2013)

I watched this movie just vaguely knowing it had high praise and won best motion picture and vaguely aware that there were people upset by it being inaccurate. I then read about what the actual events. This movie is nearly all fiction in its depiction of the extraction of the Americans from Iran. Of course, there would be no movie but a documentary devoid of drama if it was providing a historic account of what happened.
So I review as Argo as to the entertainment it provided as a Spy movie. On that level, it's above average, but far from great, let alone best picture. I found it engaging for a majority of the movie as that it drew me into the story and engaging. It did a great job of providing the historic background, costumes, news reports and the mindset of Americans in 1980. I enjoyed the fictional subterfuge of creating Argo the movie setting the stage for the CIA to rescue the Americans.
Argo falls far short after that . The subplot of Ben Affleck's relationship with his son seemed contrived and as I learned afterwards was fiction. The constant over the top message these escaped Americans faced certain death was forced, a far more likely scenario is they would had been placed with the other embassy hostages. The movie starts falling apart at the end of the 2nd act with Ben Affleck clichéd spy decision to buck the boss' orders to call off the mission. I can't envision the real life spy Bob Mendez doing such a thing. The 3rd act plunges into the ridiculous with its overwrought climax of the sinister hyper vigilant Revolutionary Guard chasing the plane carrying all 6 passengers in military vehicles and police cars. What would had happened was Iran would had ordered the Swiss Airline to land or the Iranian air force would had been dispatched to force the plane to land, if any of that were true.
Ben Affleck as director was great, Ben Affleck the actor, not so much. He would had serve this movie better by giving much more credit and screen time to the Canadians role in assisting the Americans. I give this movie a 7, but deduct 1 point for the deception this was a true story.