For anyone who’s ever had an aversion to Ben Affleck, it’s time to get over it.
Sure, he’s had some bad movies, but he’s just so good to look at. Simply turn the volume off and watch him parade around shirtless.
But now, he’s starring and directing in a film that will forever cement him as a major Hollywood talent.
Argo is not only one of the most suspenseful films of the year, it’s a taut, often funny, highly dramatic history lesson that could just as easily be ripped from current headlines.
Many of us were too young (or not even born) when the Iran hostage crisis broke in 1979. And all but a few top-level government officials knew of another incident that wouldn’t become public information until the 1990s when it was declassified by President Bill Clinton.
During the chaos at the U.S. embassy in Tehran as it’s being taken over by militants, six Americans manage to escape and hide out at the Canadian embassy. Soon, the militants realize that these people are unaccounted for and a manhunt begins.
Meanwhile back in Washington, D.C., Tony Mendez (Affleck) hatches a scheme to rescue the escapees by pretending that they’re part of a film crew scouting locations in Tehran for an elaborate sci-fi movie. Upon completion of the scout, he’ll simply present their forged Canadian passports, walk them right through airport security and onto a plane.
Easy.
It’s an elaborate plot that would be laughably outrageous as a movie pitch if it weren’t based on true events. As such, the stakes are higher and the fate of each character is a thing of genuine concern.
Nail-biting to the very end, Argo makes us proud to be Americans.
Even more than Magic Mike.
Argo
Opens Today
www.argothemovie.com
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
