REVIEW: ARGO

Feel lucky, ladies and gentlemen, for we're witnessing the peak, the pinnacle, the highest point of Ben Affleck's directorial career so far.  I can't obviously speak for his next project, but Affleck can't stop winning when it comes to directing.  Who knew a guy who starred in "Gigli," "Pearl Harbor" and "Surviving Christmas" could pull off a second act in Hollywood.  His debut feature, "Gone Baby Gone," was a grimy look at Boston's underworld, and had an extremely strong ensemble and a heartbreaking ending, the cast consisting of greats like Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan, who won an Oscar nomination for her bold work.  When his second effort "The Town" rolled out two years ago in the summer of '10, I was disappointingly too young to attend the hard-R flick.  It amassed even higher lauding, and Affleck directed another one of his costars into a supporting Oscar nomination: Jeremy Renner.  So now, the big question is with "Argo" hitting the silver screen.......who's getting nominated this time?

Mendez and Affleck

Affleck's seemingly impossible return to form is comparable to "Argo's" seemingly impossible dilemma: CIA agent Tony Mendez has to pretend he's on a Canadian film crew to sneak six hostages (perhaps not hostages, but they're trapped in Iran nonetheless) past the government's dystopian-like military to fly them back to the good old USA.  First off, based on this premise alone, doesn't it just hook you into the story? You could have zero knowledge on the Iran Hostage Crisis back in the late 70's-early 80's, (that's me by the way) and just marvel on how genius that film sounds...then add to that that it actually HAPPENED?!?!.  The film has your back on that, too, if you're wondering.  A short three-minute introduction gives you the backdrop of what led to this horrific occurrence in American history.  The most I knew about the situation at all was a project on President Carter I had to do in the sixth grade.

Like "Gone" and "The Town," Affleck and his crew have assembled a staggeringly great cast; you couldn't call it an ensemble due to the presence of mostly foreign actors, but the stars we're familiar with here are spectacular.  I haven't seen a single episode of "Breaking Bad" or "Roseanne," but I can tell you straight-up Bryan Cranston and John Goodman are some of the finest character actors in modern film history.  Cranston won me over with his naive, humorous dad in "Malcolm in the Middle," and Goodman...well Goodman's in about 90% of everything since the 90's.  Goodman plays makeup artist John Chambers ("Planet of the Apes") who agrees to provide help in the rescue, providing costumes, finding a script, and other attentive details that will make the hopeful rescue a legit sounding movie.  Cranston's a stressed CIA worker who ultimately just wants the "exfiltration" to be successful, but is painfully nervous at every turn.

Affleck is fantastic, observe the nuances of how he plays getting the hostages past security: he's stone cool. Alan Arkin, who gives a way better performance in this than his Oscar-winning cameo in "Little Miss Sunshine," plays Lester Siegel, and provides the memorable trailer line "If I'm gonna make a fake movie, it's gonna be a fake hit."  He's the fake movie's (Argo) "producer," and gets the film its "backing."  Arkin provides the film its funniest lines, and they really are quite hilarious.  He wears his "I've been through it all, what's left?" badge proudly, and has solid chemistry with Goodman.  Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") also pops up for a little bit, and the acting is above satisfactory with all of the hostages, ranging from hopeful, critical, and desperate.  Even the usual untranslatable CIA jargon is for the most part understandable, and little to no cliches slip through Affleck's tightly cemented grip.

But the champion of all these accomplishments has to be the chair arm-gripping final act of the film.  If you're unaware of how the Canadian Caper (the title given to this mission) ended in real life, let it stay that way.  Even if you are aware, I was literally biting my nails at one point, something I haven't done since grade school.  The marriage of the pounding score and the ever-increasing tension (ARE THEY GOING TO GET THEM BACK SAFELY?) swallows every thought in your brain, and the movie, despite what you might think from the trailer's display of prehistoric 70's garb, is never, ever dull.  I have a film column I write for my high school's newspaper, and am prevented from doing reviews of R-rated films, but this is an essential movie for teenagers to see, not just because it has historic quality to it, but because it's a thrilling, sharply written/acted piece of art that is just quintessential movie-lover viewing.  I'm calling an easy Best Picture nomination right now for "Argo," and for the question posed at the introduction of this review, I'm saying Affleck for best director.  Argo might've been a fake film for Tony Mendez, but "Argo" is 100% genuine, and surely one of 2012's best films.

Rating: 4/4 stars