Exciting, enthralling,funny and engaging film with solid performances and awesome picture.

Rating: 8/10 (12 November 2012)

They say 3rd time's a charm, and in this is certainly the case with Argo, Ben Afflecks 3rd directorial feature.
Argo is based on the true story of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six Amercans diplomats from revolutionary Iran. Of course this is a one sided story depicting American heroism however it gives more scope than most of this sub genre.
The blown up film effect used by Affleck to achieve a natural graininess to the picture made for a truly rich perspective.
The performance from Affleck was decent, but it was the supporting cast that really brought the story to life particularly Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin who was both a presence and hilarious. His thick accent lifts his dialogue to heights which reminds you why you watch movies. Also worth noting were efforts by the relatively unknown actor Scoot McNairy who played Joe Stafford and reminded me of Johnny Depp I could definitely see him climbing the ladder quickly. I wanted to see more of Bryan Cranston as that man brings so much intensity to a scene and it was also a shame not to have included the directors brother Casey Affleck in this film however all in all while some scenes tenacity may have been stunted the mounting tension pushed the plot to an almost melting point and had me on the edge of my seat gripped with empathy.The tension could be carved in half with a knife.
In short Argo is exciting, enthralling and engaging film with some solid performances and awesome picture the grittiness of the dialogue and grainy footage truly encapsulated an overall wholesome authenticity,this is one that is definitely worth seeing in the cinemas.
If you liked Steven Spielberg's Munich go see Argo. I score it 8.2 out of 10. Watch in a small group or with a significant other.