“Argo” tells the story of the Iranian Hostage Crisis from the eyes of the six American diplomats who evaded capture the day the U.S. Embassy was overrun on November 4, 1979.
Likewise, a world away, “Argo” follows the efforts of CIA operatives and U.S. government officials as they seek to extract the Americans as they hide in the home of the Canadian ambassador in Tehran, Iran. Viewers can feel the tension from both sides; it’s only a matter of time before the diplomats are discovered by the revolutionaries and captured, or worse. The film combines actual footage and news broadcasts from the times to give the movie a historical reality for viewers. Music, costumes and settings from the era put viewers into the grueling conflict right alongside the six Americans as they desperately wait for rescue, tensing with every knock at the ambassador’s door.
Ben Affleck plays CIA “exfiltration” specialist Tony Mendez who takes on the impossible job of extracting the Americans safely from Iran. Viewers might relate Affleck’s acting in “Argo” to the same cool intensity he portrayed in “The Town”—he plans the rescue with a rock-solid confidence and calculation akin to his robbery schemes in “The Town.” Affleck is not the only star to pop on the screen and add to the film’s quality—Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman are just a few who increase the energy this story brings.
Overall, “Argo” does a masterful job of recreating a historical event with great accuracy and respect to the times and parties involved. The film depicts a story that until recent years had remained largely unknown—the truth about a fake movie created to save the lives of six Americans. “Argo” is one story worth looking into.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
