Movie Reviews: "Argo"

[JamesG]

Movie Reviews: Argo


It has been nine years since Ben Affleck starred in Gigli, reviled by almost every critic at the time and regarded to this day as one of the worst movies ever produced.

How times have changed. Affleck’s latest film, Argo – which he directed and starred in — is being praised by virtually every major critic in America.

The film describes an actual incident that took place during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis when a CIA agent, played by Affleck, concocted a scheme to rescue six Americans who had taken refuge in the Canadian embassy in Tehran by disguising them as members of a film crew sent to Iran to scout locations for a phony science-fiction film titled Argo.





Amy Biancolli in the San Francisco Chronicle states:

“Even though most people know the outcome, this movie still will have you on the edge of your seat.”





Manola Dargis in the New York Times observes that the movie:

“embellishes the official story without eviscerating it.”





Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times says:

“This is no documentary, it’s a major studio motion picture, and a heck of a good one at that.”





Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal enthuses:

“If you’ve forgotten how gratifying a Hollywood studio film can be, this is the best good idea you could ask for.”





Claudia Puig in USA Today concludes:

“Equal parts great escape caper, Hollywood satire, and political commentary, Argo is easily one of the year’s best films.”





Rex Reed in the New York Observer agrees:

“It’s rare as a pink giraffe, but every once in a blue moon a movie comes along in which each piece fits seamlessly and every detail works. Argo is one of them.”

-IMDB News