Star rating - 9/10
When it was first
released last year, it's fair to say that Argo
wasn't given much prominence by most cinemas, and was soon relegated to late
night slots. Now after its Best Picture triumph at the Oscars, its DVD release
is a good opportunity to see if it lives up to the belated hype. And I'm
pleased to report, as I am quite a Ben Affleck fan, despite his brief Jennifer
Lopez crazed episode, that it really does.
It is the,
before now at least, little known true story of the freeing of six American
embassy workers who managed to escape to the safety of the Canadian Ambassador's
residence, when so many of their colleagues were taken hostage in the fever of
1979 revolutionary Iran. Ben Affleck both directs the film, and despite no
Oscar nod for his specific work, does an excellent job; and also plays the lead
good guy. As CIA agent Tony Mendez he comes up with a 'so ludicrous it might
just work' plan of pretending to be a Canadian film crew scouting for locations
in order to free the six.
The period
detail is impressively authentic, and the early 80's soundtrack is pitch
perfect. The audacious plan is only made possible by the help of two Hollywood
characters. John Goodman and Alan Arkin are simply wonderful as the make-up technician
and mogul who help to make the fictitious sci-fi film real enough to convince the
Iranian authorities that it exists. They have some of the best lines in the
tight script: 'So you want to come to Hollywood and act like a big shot without
actually doing anything? You'll fit right in.' and 'If I'm doing a fake movie it's gonna be a fake hit.'
The result is
highly amusing in places, but also thrillingly tense when it needs to be, as
the plan is put into action despite the odds. It is a credit to Affleck that the suspense
and tension is maintained throughout, despite being able to guess that the story
turns out for the best for the Americans. Let's face it Hollywood wouldn't have
garlanded a film about spectacular American failure, would they? It does pursue
a slightly off kilter ending for the last few moments, but Ben Affleck can
surely be forgiven for that, as he has created a wonderful film which is highly
entertaining despite it's intentional American
flag waving. If like me you are wondering what all the fuss is about, I would
highly recommend you find out for yourself.
Awesome Movie. Yes you are right at starting wasn't given much prominence by most cinemas, but at the end everybody know Argo bagged OSCAR.
ReplyDelete9/10 is not enough.