Argo

For me, Ben Affleck has always been an underwhelming actor. It's not that he's not a good actor, but I feel like there was a long period of time where he picked all the wrong projects, and his winning personality and charisma was never enough for me to think of him as a good actor, the way I think of his pal Matt Damon. When I saw Gone Baby Gone, I was convinced Affleck should quit acting altogether and focus on directing, because, for me, that's where his strengths lie. At that time, I felt he was a better director than actor. Then came his follow up, The Town, which, as good as Gone Baby Gone was, The Town was even better. Plus, Affleck acted in that film too, and was actually really good. Now comes Argo, Affleck's third directorial film in which he also stars. Maybe the success of directing has given him more confidence, or maybe he's just reached a time in his life where he is starting to pick better projects but Affleck blew me away with Argo, both behind and in front of the camera.

Argo is the true story of the Iranian hostage crisis of the late 70s and early 80s. Six American diplomats escape the embassy as it's being overthrown and hide out at the home of a Canadian diplomat. Soon, the CIA becomes involved in a mission to get them out before the Iranian government realizes they are missing. Affleck portrays a CIA agent who specializes in such hairy situations and he comes up with a proposterous idea that is so ridiculous it just might work - he will fly into Iran and pose as a Canadian producer of a bad science fiction movie named Argo. He will meet up with the six almost hostages and they will pretend to be a film crew scouting for exotic locations before flying back to the United States together. He then teams up with an Oscar winning make up designer (John Goodman) and an aging but still fiesty producer (Alan Arkin) to make their cover story seem legit.

Argo is one part espionage thriller, one part intense, searing drama and one part homage to Hollywood. It's exciting and it's smart and it's funny. Basically, there is something here for everyone, which why, at this point, it seems like a front runner for Best Picture at the Oscars. Argo is a sincere and authentic film, a celebration of the kinds of movies that can be made within the Hollywood studio system if they didn't focus all of their attention on sequels and remakes. It's a genuinely exciting film. Try not to be on the edge of your seat during the last twenty minutes or so (even if, since it's a true story, you have an inkling that it all just might work out for the best).

The best thing about Argo is the cast. Affleck is a superstar and he probably easily could have gotten some big name celebrities to star in this movie. However, he went the route of casting celebrated character actors and I think it was the best move. The faces of actors like Goodman, Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, Titus Welliver, Chris Messina, Victor Garber, Clea DuVall, and Tate Donovan are all familiar enough that they seem like real people that you know and are willing to invest your time into, however they are not so famous that it becomes distracting. It was a great decision that definitely works in the favor of this movie.

Overall, Argo is a great blend of thrills, laughs and history. My only criticism is maybe that the hostages aren't as developed as characters as you'd like them to be, but that's so minor when you think about how good Argo really is. Is it a masterpiece? Not quite, but it is a genuinely great movie and Affleck is getting closer and closer to becoming a truly great actor/director. While Argo, the sci-fi film within the film never actually made it to the big screen (and it probably would have been awful anyway), thank goodness this Argo did, because it's definitely one of the year's best films.

Grade: A-