Argo [2012]
Ben Affleck might be zilch when it comes to
acting, but he’s turned out to be a capable director. Argo, his third directorial venture, is a tense, gripping, highly
engaging, surprisingly intelligent and competently made escape thriller. Right
at the beginning of the film the audience is provided with a brief background
about contemporary political history of Iran, the destructive role played by
the US in the socio-political explosion that inevitably followed, and the
ensuing chaos and anarchy upon the sudden change of order. Done with the
context setting, we are thrown right in the middle of the Iranian Revolution,
with the US embassy in Tehran taken hostage by a fanatic mob. Six members of
the embassy, however, manage to surreptitiously escape and take refuge in the
Canadian embassy. The film, therefore, is, in essence, how Tony Mendez (Ben
Affleck), a typically laconic and highly skilled CIA agent, hatches a
fantastical escape plan for them, and then working outside the system, converts
his plan into reality. Affleck showed good eyes for details as he recreated a
sensational event from not so long back. But more importantly, he was smart
enough not to delve into the politics, as well as in terms of knowing his
limitations as a filmmaker. His objective here was simple – just to tell a darn
good story – and he succeeded by providing us
with an intermittently humorous, excellently paced and relentlessly suspenseful
film. It also boasts of fine turns by Alan Arkin and John Goodman as two
key members of the plan – the wisecracks of Arkin, in particular, were
riotously funny.
Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Thriller/Political Thriller/Escape Film/Docu-Fiction
Language: English
Country: US
13 comments:
A very good flick, no doubt about that, but it’s one that I still couldn’t get fully into as much as I wanted to. Maybe the fact that I knew how it all ended was a bit of a bummer for me, but I still liked what Affleck did behind the screen. The guy’s really making a name for himself once again, and I’m so glad it’s not because of where his dick has been. It’s actually because the guy can direct and act. Good review Shubhajit.
Thanks a lot Dan.
Yeah, its always a bit tricky making films on films that most people know how they'd end. The same was the case here, but Affleck did a pretty good job in keeping his audience engaged throughout - through some smart writing & direction. Though he's made just 3 films so far, he's made quite a name for himself already.
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Shubhajit---
Must say this one caught me by surprise, but it's exceptionally well-done and surely one of the finest American films of 2012, connecting with the audience on an emotional level, and working full throttle as a political thrilled. You frame it all perfectly!
Thanks Sam. I too tend to really like films that consciously take a of the road approach, and thus managing to engage not just cerebrally but emotionally as well. A really well-made thriller where the director (Affleck) was smart in prioritizing his objectives (viz. to tell a good story, instead of doing an in-depth examination of the complex political scenario).
I'm keen to see this. I really loved his directorial debut - gone baby gone. As for.films where affleck acts well, he's pretty good in boiler room and has a decent small role in dazed and confused.
Well, I've never been much of an admirer of Affleck's acting skills - in fact here too he's just about okay. But yes, he can certainly hold onto his competence as a director - Gone Baby Gone was an engaging watch, as is this film (haven't yet watched The Town yet).
Great movie... disappointed with the historical inaccuracy since the Brits did in fact initially house the six fugitives and, as their location was deemed high risk, they were subsequently moved to the Canadians.
Yes, this is one of the better thrillers from Hollywood. And well, some historical inaccuracies are bound to crop up due to the dramatization of the story as well as cinematic necessities. In fact the escape sequence, I'm sure, was blown completely out of proportion in order to make it nail-biting.
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