charmorris

Argo

In 1979 six American officials escape from the US embassy in Tehran as it were taken over by a mob who kept the remaining officials hostage.

In 1979 six American officials escape from the US embassy in Tehran as it were taken over by a mob who kept the remaining officials hostage. As the six officials escaped they found themselves stuck at a Canadian ambassador’s residence due to them not being able to leave as the streets were far to dangerous if they were to be recognised. Back in the U.S Tony Mendez a CIA agent played by Ben Affleck- and played very convincingly indeed, plots to recover the officials trapped in Iran by assembling a fake movie production, and convincing the six escapists as part of his production team.

Initially upon reading the plot of Argo I found myself pondering whether I would follow this film easily or struggle in the politics and history of it, but it didn’t fail to surprise me when the events folded out without any complications and I found myself extremely excited and gripped during the entire film filled with tension. Whats more is that I couldn’t possibly pick out a flaw with Argo, it was simply brilliant on every level. Intriguing story, It was so engrossing due to it being based around true events to an extent, and I personally found that even though the build up to the escape of the characters during the film had been exaggerated and mainly the end had most certainly been confirmed to have also been exaggerated for entertainment, I still really enjoyed the film… and after all it was a film, not a documentary, just a purely thrilling piece of entertainment with a loosely factual subject that makes somewhat historical events a little more inviting to engage in. Whilst the story was simple it was effortlessly intelligent and backed by a perfect cast. Not only was it Ben Affleck who gave a greatly convincing performance, but the entire cast did the same with real drama of emotions created by the six U.S officials and lighthearted and well placed comedy by Alan Arkin and John Goodman who played as part of the movie production team that gave that element to the film where it was easy to connect with, rather than just feel cold and somewhat over-dramatic. 


Argo is perfectly executed with stunning performances, edge of your seat moments, humour and an outstanding script. It’s also Filled with nail-biting tension and fantastic drama, Argo is a compelling and fascinating film  and is without doubt a must see, and one of the best films i’ve seen so far this year.