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Argo

Argo (2012)

October. 12,2012
|
7.7
|
R
| Drama Thriller

As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.

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Reviews

paulclaassen
2012/10/12

Compelling and suspenseful from beginning to end. An excellent cast, and great attention to detail. With a perfect blend of drama and humor, the film is entertaining and thrilling. Great climax and ending. All-round a wonderful production.

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chausman
2012/10/13

The movie takes place in late 1979, and Iranian revolutionaries took over Iran from the dictatorship of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who came to power with help of the United States. Following that, Iranian revolutionaries invaded the United States' embassy in Tehran. Six officials from the embassy escaped, and found sanctuary at the Canadian ambassador's residence in Tehran. To save the hostages the CIA hires agent Tony Mendez to create a plan to rescue the six escaped officials. His plan, to have the six escaped officials pose with canadian passports, in a hollywood film crew in iran to scout locations. The setting of the movie is completely true. The United States did help the Shah to take power in 1953. Many reasons led to the hatred of Shah and then to the Iranian revolution. Issues included the Shah's Autocratic rule, corrupt government, and use of a brutal secret police force. Hatred of the Shah was widespread t among the lower class, Shiite Muslims, and other groups that joined together to move the country towards a revolution.Many pieces of historical inaccuracy take place in several scenes where the scenes added or dramatised in order to make the movie more entertaining. One way we learned this is that the CIA gave briefings on fact vs. fiction in the movie via Twitter. For instance, the movie shows CIA agent Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck, going into Iran and extract the six officials as part of his "film crew." Mendez set up a cover story that they were working on a film called "Argo". Affleck, seen as a extremely diligent, and dedicated CIA agent, was sent into Iran by himself, working without any other assistance in the country. But in reality there were two CIA agents sent into Iran to pull off the plan. The movie showed only one agent, apparently to simplify the plot line, but in reality, the thought of lone agent Tony Mendez bringing off the escape of the six officials is false. Also, another historical accuracy of the movie, as tweeted by the CIA, is the scene where the officials and Mendez go scouting locations. It is a very intense scene at a marketplace in Tehran, where suspense builds up, and where there's a potential for the escape plan to be foiled. However, this scene never happened. According to the CIA, the six officials and the CIA agent never went to the marketplace. The CIA says they all stayed in the residence of the Canadian official for 79 days, and never left to pretend to scout locations. One more obviously inaccurate scene is the final escape on the plane, which is being chased by police cars, and iranian armed forces. This invention is obvious, as any vehicle attempting to drive side by side to a Swissair DC 8-62 wouldn't stand a chance. As the power behind its four Pratt & Whitney engines would easily blow the vehicles away, if they were even close to keeping up with the plane. Commercial airliners are traveling upward of 150 miles per hour when they take off. In addition, one of the most intense, sit up in your seats, nail biting, and eyes-on-the-screen scenes, arguably the climax of the movie, where the plane tickets are not at the counter, furthering the rechecking of tickets and the authorization, never happened. In reality, according to the CIA, there were no issues at the checkpoints or the ticketing counter. And the intense scene when Iranian security calls the movie studio, to verify that there actually was a movie being made, is also fabricated. The flight, an early morning flight, was so early that the workers would be tired and the guards would be sleeping. There were no complications. The film also doesn't show Canada's involvement. Canada was much more involved as the movie depicted. David Haglund, in an article on Slate.com, said the film was "downplaying the actual extent of Canadian involvement, which was considerable." As seen in the movie the only real credit given to Canada was the housing of the six officials.To conclude, the movie was very effective in stimulating the viewers' emotions and creating heart racing scenes. I don't view that as deception, because this is a work of entertainment. While the film can be criticized for its accuracy, it's much harder to criticize the film's ability to get our hearts racing, and keep us engaged

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Screen_Blitz
2012/10/14

Argo is a film that suitably fits in the category of films that tackle real-life events and captures them with electrifying precision and grit, and it is Ben Affleck who is taking the director's chair. With 2007's 'Gone Baby Gone' and 2010's 'The Town' stamped on his resume, Affleck proves himself as a filmmaker fueled with astonishing directorial virtuosity It is little to no wonder he was the perfect choice of this political thriller, a briskly-paced, suspense-driven rendition of the stranger-than-fiction real-life event that marked an unlikely collaboration with Hollywood and the U.S government in effort to execute one of the most daring rescue missions performed in history. The central role of the film is the Iran Hostage Crisis of 1979-1981, a world-rocking event that not only marked the beginning of the blood-drenched tensions between the United States and the Middle East but shattered with distressing effects that still linger today. Of course, like most cinematic interpretation of historical events, the film is not empty of wielding creative liberties at the expense of significant historical accuracy. Affleck's depiction of the event has been held in the crossfire of controversary, with many deeming it as either exaggerated or fabricated from what really took place. However, that is nothing to take away from how grippingly entertaining it is. Set during the final decade of the Cold War, Affleck takes the lead role of Tony Mendez, a CIA agent who was approached by the agency to rescue six Americans who were hostage in the U.S Embassy in Tehran, Iran in 1979 in the heat of a political uprising before taking refuge at the home of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor (played by Victor Garber). Knowing that they would eventually be found and captured to be taken in public execution if they stayed there any longer, Mendez collaborated with Hollywood producer Lester Siegal (played by Alan Arkin) and make-up artist John Chambers (played by John Goodman) came up with a plan that was far out of the ordinary: pose as a Hollywood producer under a fake name and disguise the hostages as his film crew in search for location to shoot a fake science-fiction movie titled "Argo" in an effort to sneak them through an airport ran by angry-faced, gun-wielding guards. Intertwining the story is his supervisor Jack O'Connell (played by Bryan Cranston) who along with his colleagues keep contact with Mendez during his dangerous mission. Curious to what the Iranian revolution was about? It was about rebelling against the Pahlavi dynasty under the ruling of Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi who was upheld by President Jimmy Carter. Swiping from the pages of the Tony Mendez's memoir 'The Master of Disguise' and Joshuah Bearman's memoir 'The Great Escape', this film, written by Chris Terrio, paints an authentic picture of the real-life events while appropriately masquerading as a tension-fueled race-against-the-clock thriller defies against the typical tropes of an espionage thriller. Ben Affleck shows he has an ambitious eye for detail and a heart for a palpable atmosphere that plays a major role in delivering the emotional touch for each scene taking place within the violent, dirty, socially unrest environment of Iran. He effectively lands the look of a period set in 70s and early 80s, and the intertwining of archive footage of President Jimmy Carter and news footage help set both the political and emotional tone. He also bravely exhibits with talent in front of the camera with a performance that, while proficient, doesn't quite mark one of his most memorable roles. It is his directorial efforts that takes the crown. He proves himself capable of staging each scene with a vivid eye for detail, and his effort pay off especially well for the final thirty minutes when Tony Mendez must lead the hostages through an airport where Iranian guards are watching with bold eyes, locked and loaded. The entire scene, crafted with captivating, you-are-there hand-held cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, scorches with suspense as the atmosphere boils with arresting fear of what will happen if they get caught. On the other hand, there are moments of levity offered by John Goodman and Alan Arkin in scenes showing their time at the Hollywood studios as well as moments of their collaboration with Ben Affleck with their running gag line "Argo f**k yourself". Argo is an electrifying, tautly crafted political thriller that bears powerful evidence that Ben Affleck holsters plenty of talent behind the camera as much as in front of the camera, perhaps even more so. The film is entertaining, smart, and rarely bears a dull moment. If the fictional liberties of the event don't bother you, you are in for a gripping, if not remarkable cinematic ride. In conclusion, it stands tall as one of 2012's best motion pictures.

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Evan Wessman (CinematicInceptions)
2012/10/15

I don't like to believe the myth that Hollywood loves movies about itself, but this movie proves that myth true better than any other I've seen. It's a cool story for sure, but it gets too wrapped up in the premise of making a fake movie. There is a lot of time spent shooting down other ideas and going through the process of publicizing a fake movie. It was necessary and sometimes entertaining to see, but it could have taken up less time. Even the "Argo f--- yourself" line adds to sense that the movie is rather full of itself.What I found more interesting was the details of the plan to rescue the six Canadians. Ben Affleck's character Tony is at his best when he's trying to get the hostages to buy into his plan and working to get them home. There was a much more human element to it, and they were more in line with what I think is more of the purpose of movies that are based on real events. When events are described in the news or in many historical books, it is easy to forget that they are about real people with real stakes, and dramatizations of such events help to put those sorts of things into better perspective. Argo is paced much faster and made a bit more entertaining than most non-fictional movies, but it neglects its characters for the most part.For these reasons, I don't agree with it winning the Best Picture Oscar. There was too much that could have been better, and a little too much narcissism laced into it. Perhaps someone who really enjoyed it could convince me of its value and quality, but I find it to be overrated and not true to itself. Overall Rating: 7.2/10.

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