Argo (2012)

The preview for "Argo" made me think of a dozen recent political thrillers, and the clichés lined up in my mind to the point I didn't want to see it. Then it won the Golden Globe, and I'm thinking there must be more to this than meets the eye. I wrote this review at first with the rush of having seen a really well made political thriller, but the blush has faded and I'm revising down a hair. It's good, but it really is formula movie making in some ways. And yet, in other ways, it's fast and fresh and funny.

The first minute, the first ten minutes, are so riveting you can forget any doubts about the previews. In some ways this sets an unmatchable pace for the rest, outlining the history leading to the hostage crisis in Iran that is the crux of the plot later on. Mixing found footage (or what looks like real period stuff) with new shots, and editing in a whirlwind that will, even when it calms down, make your head spin, the pace and the energy is great. Gradually it becomes clear what particular focus the movie will take--the six embassy workers who avoided being taken hostage in the crisis (this is late 1979).

When the plot broadens to include not only the Canadian Ambassador's house but a bunch of small time Hollywood professionals (played by big time Hollywood professionals named Alan Arkin and John Goodman), the fun begins. And as much as the movie is painful and gut-wrenching, it's actually fun, and in Goodman's case, downright hilarious. It's that famously classic mix of tragic and comic that makes the movie click. It's a bit glib and maybe even dumbed down, at times, but it still gets some sincere laughs.

Ben Affleck directed and stars as the leading operative who tries to get the six out of Iran using a crazy concoction of chutzpah and genius. Whether it works you'll see. But the movie is filmed, and edited, with unusual clarity and intelligence. It's not just fast, it's kinetic and logical and irresistible. It's an artistic job of putting several plot lines together into one dynamic energized whole. It creates a really stupidly Hollywood fantasy of an ending (the airport stuff) that isn't true, and the personal life of Affleck's character is further sentimentalizing (also not true--check wikipedia).

The only downside to the movie is that it is what it is--it's history, it has no surprises if you know the history, and it's laden slightly with the feeling the "we" are the good guys and "they" are not. And it's a conventional--though highly effective--action adventure political thriller beat the clock movie. I mean, there are ways these movies are put together and this follows the rules. I don't know if the Iranians are presented fairly, overall, but an Iranian student of mine (born and raised in Tehran) said it looked really authentic to him. It is, however, an very pro-American view of things, for better or worse.

In the end "Argo" is just so smartly made and paced, you'll get sucked in. Guaranteed.