Should be retitled 'Arkin!'

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2013)

As an equal opportunities film viewer (and one that basically has to watch loads to review them for a magazine) I watched Argo out of intrigue for how far Ben Affleck had come since the last hundred times he was either laughed or screamed out of a theatre or awards ceremony.
The man has lived a varied and colourful life, from his beginnings under Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith, to his creative partnership with Matt Damon and then... Daredevil...
People slag off Arnie for his Austrian accent. People slag off Steven Seagal because... well it's Steven Seagal... people slag off Kirsten Stewart because she can't act and she's additionally miserable.
Me, I've slagged off Ben Affleck because in the two decades he's been making the rounds, he's had a grande total of about three different hairstyles AND the most used one, the one he wears in films where he's a douche trying to be popular - The Bouffant - is usually when he is at his most unlikeable.
So, Argo! He plays a CIA agent in the early 80's that looks like the guy that tries to sell out John McClaine in Die Hard only to have his brains blown out into a glass of Coca-Cola AND the guy put a large dose of his creativity, political knowledge and creative power into a factual docu-drama about how the CIA extracted hidden US citizens from Iran after the invasion of their US Embassy.
One thing I really appreciate other than a drama that catches the emotion and atmosphere of a pretty devastating moment in history is one that looks and feels like the era it was set in and Argo successfully delivers on that level, taking me back to some classic cinema.
Argo, the title of the film, lends itself from the name of the fictional movie production devised by the CIA and cheap and cheerful movie producer Lester Siegel (played by Alan Arkin) in order to legally and safely get into Iran and extract the US citizens with false IDs before they are captured and executed.
I really liked Argo and that came down to Affleck's untypically laid back and sombre performance, along with strong supports from favourites John Goodman and Bryan Cranston. But as I say, not to discredit the good work on behalf of all involved, it is Alan Arkin - the old rogue that brought us Catch 22 - that really steals the show AND carries it for much of the film.
Aside from some breathtaking suspenseful moments, I only have two/three problems with this movie. One and two, it's a bit of a mixed bag that doesn't always stay on track and without some pretty unnecessary scenes, it could have been half an hour shorter.
My only other problem is that I didn't give a flying hoot about the US citizens hidden away in Iran. Clea Duvall, Tate Donovan and Scoot McNairy are three actors I can safely say have never done anything for me, with exception to McNairy's turn in this year's Killing Them Softly (which only worked because you're not supposed to like him).
I feel that this film is praised more for the fact that it deals with a past political situation that is relevant today more than ever after 911 and otherwise it wouldn't have had such critical acclaim.
And as well-made as I can accept this film is, it's worth it for the acting alone, but maybe now Ben Affleck will stop trying to seek critical acclaim and just get on with making movies that won't make him look like a bushy headed yuppie.
Thumbs up, overall, Affleck. But without Arkin, this film wouldn't have been enjoyable at all!