Argo showcases the little-known Canadian Caper during the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-81. Six US embassy workers had managed to escape capture and were secretly hosted by the Canadian ambassador and another Canadian embassy worker. After about three months, all US citizens managed to escape with fake passports on an ordinary scheduled flight. Nice story, happy ending. What adds some zazz to the story is that an elaborate cover story was created, in which the group of Americans had been scouting in Iran for a film location for a cheesy sci-fi flick. To corroborate this, a film script was created (or actually, re-used), a production company was set up, ads were put in Vanity Fair.

Fantastic story, but one that doesn't actually translate well into a movie. The storming of the embassy creates the movie's only visually dramatic scene. The agony of spending three months in a fairly cushy prison doesn't come across well on the big screen. The same goes for the setting up of the Hollywood back story. The film then tries to create a second dramatic highlight when the group has to go through passport control before boarding the plane, and it does so with lots of old-fashioned Hollywood cheese. In the end, the plane is chased across the runway by cars full of gun-wielding soldiers but manages to take off. Whew!

Argo isn't terribly bad or anything, it's just unremarkable.