It goes without saying that the movie is predictable as, it is based on real life events. I recall the that quite well. It's because of that reason that I felt drawn to the film. I remember the anguish the country felt when our diplomats were taken hostage. So, off to the movies we go to re-live the events in Hollywood splendor. - While the story of the 6 American citizens that escaped the embassy and thus avoid being captured, is a good one, the film itself is terribly slow the vast majority of the time. If not for the fantastic characters played by John Goodman and Alan Arkin, this movie might have put people to sleep. That is, up until the last 10 min of the movie....... even when you already know the outcome, it's still fairly tense. Ben affleck is a an average to below average actor, and his directorial debut is average as well. There's nothing award winning about this film at all.... unfortunately. I was looking forward to much better.