Argo

Ben Affleck is a really interesting figure in modern cinema. He's one of America's most popular stars, yet it's not easy to name why other than his association with Matt Damon. He's been criticized for being the exact same character in every role, and took the criticism. Then he made a complete 180. Suddenly, Ben Affleck, the quintessential handsome white American movie star, is proven to be a very talented crime director. I liked Gone Baby Gone, I thought The Town was pretty good, but I usually would never expect Ben Affleck to create the tension and pacing that he does. So we come to Argo: Affleck's first spy thriller, one of the best in recent years. It's 1979, the eve of Iran's cultural revolution. The Ayatollah Khomeini has returned, and the United States has angered the revolutionaries by offering the ousted Shah asylum. Protestors take over the American embassy and hold over fifty employees hostage. But six intelligence workers escape and hide out in the Canadian ambassador's house. It's only a matter of time before they're discovered, and the CIA is stumped. But exfil expert Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with an idea: have the workers pose as his Canadian film crew, pretend to be scouting for a crappy sci-fi movie called Argo, and have them fly out together. It's a huge gamble, but when the camera rolls, they gotta roll with it. One piece of advice: don't look up the actual operation Argo is based on; it makes the film much more effective. Not knowing the ending allowed me to notice a lot more in the film, and as a result I enjoyed it a great deal. Argo is a movie based in detail; there is a huge effort put into making everything look like it did then, from how cities and people look and talk to the way scenes are constructed based on photos and stock footage. Ben Affleck makes a real and successful push to make sure his audience feels the intense atmosphere of the situation. As a result the script works much better with the direction, and it's much easier to get invested in the story and characters. And Argo's characters are what makes it worth watching. The direction, the script, and the cinematography are all great, but the characters shine as the driving force behind the film. The great Bryan Cranston is great as Affleck's boss, John Goodman is as fun as always as a famous makeup artist, and Alan Arkin steals the show as Argo's foul-mouthed producer. Even the minor characters have done a lot of research into their roles and try to bring their all. They portray the seriousness and tension of the story, the most important part of the film, very well and very convincingly. As such Argo manages to stay realistic and dark but also funny and exciting. Like last year's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Argo is a great step forward for spy movies. Keep in mind that "spy movie" is basically just a synonym for "James Bond" in popular culture. But as a big fan of John Le Carre and classic thrillers of the forties and fifties, I like stories that are meticulous and dense, with realistic characters, actions, and tons of tension. James Bond is a character whose adventures have no stakes and no real consequences, whereas in Tinker Taylor and Argo, the stakes are very high and the consequences dire. Knowing this film is a true story only impresses this. Argo is genuine; the story and screenplay are good, the acting is great, and the direction is very well done. Go undercover and see Argo.