Ooops, I saw this a week ago and should have posted about it sooner. My bad.

Usually, late Sept and early October are a dumping ground for mediocre films. But a few weeks ago we got End of Watch, which is the best cop movie of the year, and then two weeks ago we got Looper, which is the best sci-fi movie of the year. I was thrilled! No way could this down part of the movie year get better, I thought.

And then I saw Argo, which is the best movie of the year… at lesat so far.

Argo is the true story of the secret CIA mission to rescue 6 Americans who fled the US Embassy in Iran when it was taken over by violent protestors during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The way the CIA rescued them was to pretend they were filmmakers making a fictional sci-fi movie in Iran and it just flew them out of the Tehran airport.

I just told you the whole story. So what? The film is based on real history and we all know that history because we lived it. It does not matter if you know how the movie comes out. That is how good a film it is.

Argo stars Ben Affleck as the CIA agent in charge of the mission. He is also the director of the film and he is certain to get a best director nomination. He recreates revolutionary Iran in terrifyingly accurate detail. You really feel like you are there. There were moments where I was stunned at how he had gotten images like that and thought he must be using historical footage mixed in with the stuff he shot, but it was just him going to painstaking detail to re-create everything. Be sure to stick around for the credits because they show you images from 1979 compared to scenes in the movie and it is really cool.



The first half of the movie is a tremendous mix of tension and humor as the CIA builds a credible back story about this fake film being made. They need to make sure that the fake film will stand up to scrutiny in case Iranian officials question the validity of the story. The second half of the movie is just all tension as we try to get these embassy workers safely out of Iran. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and did not even think about glancing at my watch. It is an incredibly enjoyable time at the movies, a story that is historical and educational, and the kind of film that deserves your $10 (or whatever a ticket costs). Ben Affleck, who made Gone Baby Gone and The Town, is rapidly turning into one of the finest directors around. If he does not get a Best Director nomination for this, then it is because of some anti-actor/director conspiracy.

There are a number of strong supporting performances, including Bryan Cranston as Affleck's boss and John Goodman and Alan Arkin as producers who are part of setting up the fake film, but Affleck is the core of the movie. The fact that he acted this well and directed this well at the same time... well, it is just remarkable. He is one of the most talented people in Hollywood today.



-Jason "Go see Argo... you won't be sorry" Evans