Well Paced and Well Done

Rating: 9/10 (20 October 2012)

"Argo" could have descended into the kind of explosions and car chase thriller one would expect from such a topic, namely the successful extraction of 6 US Embassy workers from Tehran at the beginning of the Islamic revolution in 1979. Based on a true account, Ben Affleck (who deserves all acting and directing kudos) maintains a tight leash throughout, using tension and what-if dread as the main adrenaline builders. It is a testament to his ability that even knowing the outcome does nothing to keep you from the edge of your seat. The CIA operative he plays, Tony Mendez who masterminded the plot, is no James Bond. He uses his brains, not his gun to achieve his goal, one that seems insane to his superiors.
The acting is precise and realistic. Comedy relief is provided by John Goodman as Hollywood special-effects guru who has all the good lines. He and Alan Arkin as producer Lester Siegel have a rollicking good R-rated banter together. This being a suspense thriller, there are some fabricated scenes of last-minute miracles (phones picked up at the last second, etc)but they can be forgiven considering the excellence of the whole.
Sharp viewers will be treated to modern Iranian history at the intro and it doesn't put the United States in a good light. When the freely elected Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized the Iranian oil industry in 1953, he was overthrown by a CIA coup and replaced with the Shah of Iran. The Shah was a dictator as brutal and bloody as Saddam Hussein but as one of the CIA bureaucrats in "Argo" suggests, he was a tyrant, but he was OUR tyrant. In short, you can violate human rights all you want as long as you don't mess with our oil supply.
The only things that redeem the CIA in this film are that the Islamic revolutionaries were just as brutal and the bravery of Mendez and his team.