[BLOG] Argo

[alythonian]

Some of the tension is lost on second viewing but it is still compelling stuff.
One of my favourite films of 2012.

Just back from 2nd viewing,this time with OH rather than on my own, and I agree completely.

He's fizzing that they dissed the Kiwis though - all lies apparently!

[Beate]

Bah - no Sky superscreen tonight and no balcony. They stuffed us into screen 7 which got completely full with ushers wandering around telling us to take coats of empty seats. There was one annoying couple that did not want to split up and wandered around the cinema so long until the usher finally got some people to move up somewhere in the front row. Most of the latecomers had lots of food and drink in their hand. I cannot stress enough how idiotic that is. Get your seat first, then go and b*y your provisions!

Anyway, got agreeable seats in the last row next to tufty + OH and the film is just as good the second time round - got choked up again at the end when everybody hugged.

"If we'd wanted applause we would have joined the circus." "I thought we did?"

9/10

[yogi]

A fantastic film. A must see.

Brilliantly acted and perfectly pitched at every point, switching from extreme tension to hilarious Hollywood mockery and back again as it goes, but never at the expense of the overall drama.

And whilst the film would have worked without the history lesson at the start I liked the story being put in some kind of context.
[spoiler]The only bit that stood out in a bad way was the police cars chasing the plane the end. As someone else said maybe this happened, but it did feel a bit Hollywoody. I can forgive the film this one slight misstep though[/spoiler]
Ben Affleck has now become someone whose next film is something to be really looked forward to, after a very good film, a good film now I think this one is great - his best yet. I love his effortless style the way at times it doesn't even feel directed, nothing gets in the way of the story or the characters, similar to Clint Eastwood at his best.

[Diane65]

A fantastic film. A must see.

Brilliantly acted and perfectly pitched at every point, switching from extreme tension to hilarious Hollywood mockery and back again as it goes, but never at the expense of the overall drama.

And whilst the film would have worked without the history lesson at the start I liked the story being put in some kind of context.
[spoiler]The only bit that stood out in a bad way was the police cars chasing the plane the end. As someone else said maybe this happened, but it did feel a bit Hollywoody. I can forgive the film this one slight misstep though[/spoiler]
Ben Affleck has now become someone whose next film is something to be really looked forward to, after a very good film, a good film now I think this one is great - his best yet. I love his effortless style the way at times it doesn't even feel directed, nothing gets in the way of the story or the characters, similar to Clint Eastwood at his best.

A really good film and we did like the history lesson at the beginning especially as for my daughter it was a long time before she was born so not something that she knew much about. Plus the spoiler bit did happen I remember watching it on the news. Nice to see Betty Botter and have a chat but r33ceh walked off before I had chance to say hi. 8/10

[stuartboy]

ARGO F**K YOURSELF!

Ha! Couldn't resist saying it!

This was brilliant. Absolutely loved it. Finally saw this tonight at 3rd attempt. I had managed to avoid any references to the movie and tbh I was thinking it was going to be a cop-buddy movie of some sort. Am I confusing this with another up-coming film? How pleasantly surprised was I. I really appreciated the history lesson at the begining because whilst I recall hearing words like Shah and Ayatollah being mentioned on the early evening news as a nipper, I had never really pa*d it much attention.
A perfect balance of tension, excitement, action, more tension and humour.

I was more than amused though to see a film which had Waldorf and Stadtler from The Muppets, Malcolm in the Middle's dad and several Ned Flanders from The Simpsons in it!

An easy 9.5/10 from me.

Tempted to give it another viewing, but I agree it won't be the same without the tension.

A++++++!

[Jayman]

Think we can all agree, in my world there's clearly no accounting for taste.

I liked it, but thought it was far from great. Some of the suspense elements reminded me very much of the far-superior 1987 Kevin Costner / Gene Hackman thriller "No Way Out". This one...well...it's a fascinating story, unbelievable if it weren't actually true but I didn't sympathise enough with the blank-personality hostages leg by the annoyingly smug Tate Donovan. [spoiler]Also, during the entire climax, as suspenseful as it was, I kept hoping another obstacle would present itself so as to prolong the tension...but since this is a depiction of a real life crisis, that infers the original hostages would've needed to suffer a similar fate.[/spoiler]
Overall good, but not great. Sorry guys.
(My Mum loved it)

[jeanelle]

Enjoyed this very much especially the nail-biting finish. I got really swept up in it which is unusual for cynical ol' me. Loved the humour and spotting all the well-known cast members too.

[Jayman]

Wikipedia has an interesting list of cinematic modifications from the actual event:
[spoiler]Mendez is seen obtaining his visa to go to Iran while he is in Turkey, when this actually happened at the Iranian embassy in Bonn, Germany. He also travels solo, but during the actual mission had a partner named Julio. All six Americans are depicted as long-term house guests of the Canadian ambassador, but only two actually stayed with him. The other four lived with another Canadian diplomat. The film depicts a dramatic last-minute cancellation of the mission by the Carter administration and a bureaucratic knife-fight in which Mendez boldly declares he will proceed with the mission anyway. In fact, Carter did delay authorization, but only for 30 minutes, and the delay occurred before Mendez left Europe for Iran. The film depicts a tense scene at the airport before the final departure, due to zealous Iranian guards. In reality, the flight was delayed rather mundanely due to a mechanical problem. Airport security and customs was not a challenge. As Tony Mendez later wrote, "The Iranian official at the checkpoint could not have cared less."[21] Finally, the chase scene at the end is a total fabrication.[22][/spoiler]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argo_%282012_film%29

[The Sparrow]

Can we remember that it is a dramatization based on real events, not a documentary (even then events are often changed!)

[liverpool1]

I'm REALLY looking forward to this one.
I don't know how Ben can top 'The Town', though, One of the most underrated films in the last few years.