A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.
Until [the] final reel, this is one truly taut experience.
Combining laughs and thrills with plenty of verve, Ben Affleck continues his smart directorial career with a stylish, gripping hostage drama.
Tremendous thriller.
There is an intelligent, funny film waiting to come out of this story; it will have to keep waiting.
It’s to Affleck’s credit that he manages to knit Hollywood levity into the genuinely gripping question of whether the embassy Americans can pull this off.
Even as the film starts to deviate substantially from real events courtesy of amped-up action sequences that externalise the palm-sweating fear the participants must have felt as they were making their getaway, it works well because of the groundwork laid early on – and because Argo is a film that can unashamedly celebrate Hollywood’s propensity for making stuff up.
This is a watchable, enjoyable film, with some hilarious and nail-biting moments, but it sets its face disconcertingly against satire and mischief with a final lurch into schmaltzy, liberal-patriot piety. It is as if Aaron Sorkin, in his most solemn mood, had suddenly taken over screenwriting duties for the final 10 minutes.
My film of the year (so far).
A tremendously accomplished thriller.
Very entertaining thriller.
Argo is fabulous, but not flawless.
An old-school espionage thriller with a movie-biz comedy twist, all the better for being (almost) entirely true. It is to Ben Affleck’s credit that the tension and laughs complement rather than neutralise each other.
A wonderfully lively and engrossing movie.
Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and now Argo: as a helmer of smart, rattle-along thrillers, the boy who wrote Good Will Hunting kid is now the man.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to avoid discussing the end of the film, which plummets right into cliché heist territory, suffocating in the painful will they/won’t they escape finale. Most of Affleck’s hard work in making this film about more than just US infiltration is at risk of being undone and there is a lasting impression that the outcome isn’t quite satisfactory.
Ben Affleck's new film 'Argo' upsets British diplomats who helped Americans in Iran
Ben Affleck's Argo takes Iran's revolutionary themes as its own
Making a drama out of a crisis
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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