Argo... For those of you who are huge fans of The Town and other well-made flicks directed and starred by Ben Affleck, check his latest film out. I finally got around to watching Argo late last week, and the biographical thriller did not disappoint. The movie is an intense depiction of the effort made by the Central Intelligence Agency and Canada to rescue six American diplomats who managed to escape the U.S. Embassy and go into hiding during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Although there is not much to say in terms of the story, since it's based on a true event and we all know how the 1980 rescue effort turned out, the excellent cast that Affleck assembled for his latest film is very worthy to discuss here.
Based on a secret mission that was declassified by former president Bill Clinton in 1997, Argo features an exceptional cast that includes Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin and Victor Garber. Cranston—who continues to show what a superb actor he is after his award-winning performance in the hit AMC TV show, Breaking Bad—does an excellent job portraying Jack O'Donnell, the CIA supervisor of Tony Mendez (played by Affleck). Even when the rest of the U.S. government is skeptical about Mendez conjuring up a fake sci-fi movie (called Argo) to get the six diplomats out of Iran, O'Donnell remains supportive of Mendez's plan...especially when Mendez ultimately decides to bring his rescue operation into fruition at the Tehran airport in the movie's climax. Even more integral to the rescue attempt is Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (played by Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (portrayed by Arkin)...whose influences in Tinseltown would be pivotal in convincing Iranian government officials that Mendez was indeed in Tehran to scout for a "$20 million Star Wars rip-off" (the words of Siegel) with a Canadian film crew. Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor (played by Victor Garber, who made himself known in James Cameron's Titanic and had a brief role in The Town), is the man who allowed the six diplomats to go into hiding inside his embassy during the months-long ordeal—and would be fortuitous enough to initially take all the credit for the diplomats' rescue (nicknamed the Canadian Caper) after they were able to flee from Iran. During the film's end credits, you can see just how awesome a job that Argo's casting director did in selecting actors who looked just like their real-life historic counterparts. And it's great to see that Mendez got to retain the Intelligence Star medal that was secretly awarded to him by the CIA in the wake of Argo's success 32 years ago.
All-in-all, Argo is definitely Best Picture-worthy. I see the film receiving a lot of Academy Award nominations come January, with Affleck continuing to show that he is becoming just as versatile a director/actor as Clint Eastwood and Ron Howard have been for the past two decades or so. Would I say that Argo is my favorite Affleck movie over The Town, you ask? Um, naw. That 2010 bank heist flick was pretty awesome. Oh, and Happy Halloween, everyone! That is all.
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