Argo - Review

Another thrill ride here folks. What is interesting here is that for such an intense movie, there was little to no bullet fire or death toll. Argo focuses on the hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. What the film does extremely well is put us in that time period. All the actor's haircuts and clothing fit the time period perfectly. The music, the production design, even the choice to shoot the film on an old camera from the 1970's really grounded the film in its own reality. Many average movie-goers don't notice these things but here, it is done extremely well. Not only do we understand when and where we are, the film does an excellent job explaining what is going on. Movies about the Middle East and the United States struggling relations and politics can often get confusing even for people who like political films. Ben Affleck does a wonderful job making sure that the story is understood and easy to follow. He does this with exposition that doesn't feel extremely forced and through the humour of John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Lastly, no spoilers just in case you don't know the true story, the second half of the film will have you cringing in anticipation and worry. Overall, this is a very solid picture. Nothing too fantastic or groundbreaking, but you can tell that this film was a giant mesh of good work from all different film departments. Ben Affleck, once again you have made a good, strong movie. Looking forward to your next turn in the director's chair.