Review: Argo

I had high expectations for Argo and everyone I have talked to recommended Argo.  This usually spells disaster for any movie.  The last hyped movie I saw, Looper (along with the last movie I saw Skyfall that makes three one word films in a row oddly enough), fell victim to this.  Going into Argo I had heard incredible things.  So I was careful not to believe too much into the good reviews I had heard.  That being said, I liked this film, but wasn't blown away by it.  Argo is a good use of a few hours, but I won't be thinking about it too much longer after the movie.  I did have to look up to see which details where correct and which were dramatized.

Argo reminded me of another film set in the seventies, Munich.  They both begin with the frenetic and chaotic reenactments of famous events; Munich Olympics and the Iran Hostage Crisis.  These serve as launching points for a lesser known, but true story.  Both movies are also draped in 70s style, as shown below.  That being said, each movie's purpose and tenor are very dissimilar.       

Munich was about the utility of an endless cycle of violence and reprisals and price it has on people's lives. Argo is more of a caper as the main objective is how to get these people out.  The film is also an example of Hollywood poking fun at its own industry.  The funniest and best parts of the movie are with Alan Arkin as a Hollywood producer and John Goodman as a make up artist who work to put together a fake movie to pull the whole plan off.  Arkin and Goodman are perfectly cast for these outlandish, comedic roles.     

Argo is about a group of Americans who escape the embassy in Iran as it is getting overrun.  In Argo, Ben Affleck's character, Tony Mendez comes up with a plan to get them out of Iran, pose as a Canadian film crew scouting a location for a movie.  Part of the reason he believes this will work is everyone's perceived notion about Hollywood's bravado.  Of course they can film a movie in a country in the middle of a revolution.  It's cheap and has exotic locations.  Of course there are other jokes too:

John Chambers (Goodman):  So you want to come to Hollywood, act like a big shot... 
Tony Mendez (Affleck): Yeah. 
John Chambers: ...without actually doing anything? 
Tony Mendez: Yeah. 
John Chambers: [smiles] You'll fit right in!

Lester Siegel (Arkin): You're worried about the Ayatollah? Try the WGA. 

Humor aside, Argo does a great job of framing the drama and giving it context to the larger problem of the Americans still held hostage in the embassy.  Argo also show the peril these six escapees face as they exit out of their Canadian safe house into the resulting Iranian revolution taking place.  Argo also  shows the conundrum the US was in diplomatically and strategically.  I really liked the small moments of drama and the small touches in the film in the Washington scenes and the Tehran scenes.  The escape scene at the end; however, to me was a little over the top.  I kept thinking, "Okay well this had to have been altered."  But in a way, I felt the film hints at this the whole time.  Of course a film poking fun at Hollywood's over the top nature will end a "based on a true story" movie with an over the top not quite true ending.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie and would recommended it as a good thriller.  

I also recommend reading the true story here written by Tony Mendez, Affleck's character.  While not as riveting as the movie, it is interesting to read about the actual operation and the challenges they faced.  Spoiler note: there was no pulse pounding airport adventure, but they did fly out of the airport.