It's 1979. Picture it...little Scotty Trueblood playing diligently with his Star Wars figures. Got that image in place? Well, forget about it because it has almost nothing to do with what was going on in Iran that year. It was 1979 when Iranians stormed the US Embassy, taking American hostages. In return, they demanded the return of their ousted leader who had taken refuge in the USA. However, six of those hostages had escaped to a Canadian safe house. Enter Johnny Mendez (Affleck). He's brought into a think tank whose purpose is to brainstorm these six Americans home safely. Several ideas float about, but it is Johnny's plan that gets the nod. What's the big idea? Well, drawing from the popularity of the movie Star Wars, Johnny plans to pass the six hostages off as a film crew on a location scouting mission. The proposed movie is Argo--a sci-fi thriller in need of a desert location for filming. Argo...meet Iran. Is it suspicious considering the chaotic upheaval taking place in Iran? Sure. But as Mendez's boss (Bryan Cranston) points out: "This is the best bad idea we have."
To keep it real, Mendez brings in Hollywood. This means make-up guru John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). They use a real script...cast real actors...even have a PR event with cast and crew to draw some media coverage. It would all need to pay off as...yadayadayada Johnny and his crew of six ambassadors turned film crew navigate checkpoint after checkpoint on their way home.
It's good...very good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars on this gem. Again, Argo is not your Tom Clancy thriller turned big screen. It is a real story that leans heavily on history for a basis for its reality. These are real events, which make them even scarier; and, as they emerge onto the big screen, even more entertaining.
What Affleck captures here is truly the fear and shock injected into a nation at these horrifying events of 1979. I was a little fella, but I do remember this happening. Actually, I remember playing with my Star Wars figures on Mammaw Brown's couch one Friday night while she and Pap remained intensely glued to the TV as these events unfolded. Americans were outraged and enraged. That is one side. Affleck also effectively captures the rage pulsing through Iran that year. Their people had ousted someone they considered to be a horrible dictator and he had set up a convenient asylum in the US. The Iranian people took offense and a group of revolutionaries took action and sixty hostages in the process. It was chaos in motion and Affleck painted an absolutely brilliant picture.
Where does it come up short? You really have to get picky to come up with any negatives. Yeah, there are times when you edge up on that seat and wonder if Hollywood is behind it or these events unfolded as depicted. I'll give all involved the benefit of the doubt because nothing is remotely over the top. Again...keepin' it real, baby.
The acting? Great. From Cranston and Goodman and Arkin, this crew was as historic as these events. The only criticism on that front would be Affleck's portrayal of Mendez. No emotion with this character whatsoever. I promise that you will find no difference between Mendez and the stone wall nearest you, save some moss and dust on the latter. Now, the trouble with capturing a real-life person is that he may have been portrayed incredibly accurately. That would, after all, be quite real if Mendez's nickname was Stony. It may have been, but you're facing incredible feats with absolutely no sense of emotion at all? I suppose. Again, the real Mendez might have showered in Novocaine? I don't know. With that said, Affleck was either brilliant or a stone. With every other component well in place in Argo I'll side with brilliant.
Should you see this one BIG? Uhh...yeah! Argo is a fascinating peace of history and fun to watch on many fronts. Check it out and go BIG!
True...OUT!
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