The good guys win one
Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez walks the Tehran bazaar in Argo
We saw a great movie, and you should too.
Argo is the true story of how the CIA got 6 Americans out of Iran after the takeover of the American Embassy in 1978. They had escaped to the Canadian Ambassador’s residence (after being turned away by the British and the Kiwis). They couldn’t stay there forever, and they couldn’t leave legally. The CIA turned to an “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez to get them out.
There followed a plan so audacious, so risky, that if it wasn’t true you wouldn’t believe it. The six were taken out of the country posing as a Canadian film crew making preparations for a non-existent film called Argo.
John Goodman and Alan Arkin have key roles as a Hollywood makeup artist and a producer respectively. They are broad, loud, brash and wonderful.
The attention to detail in this film is incredible. The actors playing the 6 escapees are dead ringers for their counterparts. The clothing, the scenery, the imagery all are spot-on.
You know how it is going to end, of course, and yet the final 20 minutes of the film will have you on the edge of your seat holding your breath. This is really very, very good film-making.
Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 95%. Go see it.
Totally Unauthorized 