Argo (2012)

I was at our local library last Sunday afternoon, perusing the DVD / Movies section, and found the Argo on Blu-ray. Ooooh, that’s interesting. When this film came out last year, there was a lot of good buzz around the film. Yes, despite being directed by, and starring, Ben Affleck, an actor who has received a lot of critical ribbing in the past few years since Daredevil and Gigli. I don’t have strong opinions about Ben Affleck, so I could care less.

The movie Argo is either based on, or inspired by, true events surrounding the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the later storming of the U.S Embassy in Tehran. Not all of the Embassy employees/staff were taken hostage — six managed to escape undetected during the siege, and took residence up with the Canadian ambassador. With time running out before their likely discovery before long, an “exfiltration expert” Tony Mendez (portrayed by Ben Affleck) devised a crazy but daring plan: to create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. Mendez contacts some trusted Hollywood types that he’s used in the past to help with his plan. Mendez also heads to Iran as the film’s associate producer, but to also make contact with the six U.S. citizens. While all this is happening, Iranian security forces begin closing in on the six.

The film is pretty good, I have to say. Good pacing, and the story doesn’t  get too schmaltzy or anything. Affleck’s acting was fine, as was the acting by John Goodman and the other actors. You do get a sense of how crazy Iran was during in the midst of the revolution. We watched it on Blu-ray, so we watched it in the highest quality presentation: the video was pretty flawless in 1080p, and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 helped to set the mood of the riots, the crowds, and the background chaos.

Argo (2012)