REVIEW | Argo (2012)

Ben Affleck doesn't go dilly-dallying. He simply delivers the facts of the events accurately. And to tell the world a true story so extraordinary that you feel it can only happen in the movies, all you really need is a clear and straightforward execution, and let the absurdity of the facts hit your audience.

It's 1976 during the peak of the Iranian Revolution and the US embassy in Tehran is violently attacked by militants, taking 52 Americans hostage.  However, six manage to escape unnoticed and seek refuge in the Canadian ambassador's residence. With the six Americans' lives in extreme danger, an outrageous, risky, and comedic CIA covert operations is devised by "exfiltrator" Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them: create a fake Hollywood sci-fi movie called "Argo," and make the 6 Americans look like Canadian film crew scouting for locations in Iran...and get them out of the country fast.

Argo,  one of the best movies of 2012, will undoubtedly bag Oscar nominations, including Best Director for Affleck. With an effective storytelling, there is palpable sense of horror and tension as the highly risky so-Hollywood rescue plan is being plotted, mixed with comic relief from the collaborators: a veteran movie producer (Alan Arkin) and an Oscar-winning make-up artist (John Goodman).

Affleck cinematically captures the 1970's feel, the historical facts rendered in grainy shots to give us a sense of reality, and combining it with Hollywood dark comedy, he delivers one highly entertaining package. As the film nears the end, the suspense reaches a boiling point that you'd find yourself pulling your hair off, uncontainable in your seat, your stress and adrenaline level skyrocketing, and you'd leave the cinema with a palpitating heart.

  3.5 out of 5 stars