Surprised But Not Shocked

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2012)

This film is an old fashioned drama in many ways. There are charges it is not accurate. I doubt if anyone who makes those charges knows anything about what really happened. There are references from real people to make one suspect these back yard critics know nothing about what really happened.
For example, during the closing credits Jimmy Carters voice is there saying the the guy who pulled this off did the greatest thing ever in history of cooperation between 2 countries. That lends some reality to the fact that some of this did happen.
The film almost addresses the issue of the problems the Carter Administration was having in foreign policy late in the movie. When they try to stop the operation, they mention the administration wanted to change how they were doing it because they were "rethinking strategy". This is a reference to the failed rescue military mission Carter ordered which killed a group of US Military folks and destroyed a couple of choppers in the desert.
The reminder of the problems the Carter Administration (Democrats) had is at a bad time for the Democratic Party after their recent blunder in Bengazi. While Obama killed Bin Laden, and pulled US Military troops out of Iraq while leaving thousands of US Security Personnel in their place, it does not appear the present Administration is much better than Carter was.
The Carter Administration is made to look foolish here in several parts of the film. None of the film was filmed in Iran though parts of it were filmed in Istanbul, Turkey.
Does this film anger Iran? It should not as the present leader of Iran is not the guy in this movie and is not any relation to the shah.
John Goodman and Alan Arkin are well cast as the Hollywood types. The lack of much real action makes you think this is a true story simply because no real Hollywood folks would make any movie without taking advantage of CGI. The main weakness here is trying to get the viewer to make the CIA into something it is not- a giving and forgiving organization that is helpful when their orders are not followed. That does not ring true.
It is refreshing to see well done drama with a realistic touch behind the camera. The story grabs the viewer.