wtf - this got an Oscar?! Actually unexciting story; shallow characters.
Concerning the critical reviews, I felt the film was highly overrated. The topic itself had a lot of potential, but the film just winds up being a bit too conventional Hollywood for my taste, especially the final scenes. I'm sure the real story is far more interesting than the systematic Hollywood version that I've watched.
If you are like me and never heard about the real story of "Argo", "Argo" is definately one, if not the best film of 2012 (My opinion of course). From story to location and even cast, "Argo" does its best to depict the real events with a little bit of hollywood flare and dramatic heroism. Ben Affleck does a very good job on his role and so is John Goodman,Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston as they create a very good and realistic cast. Broadcast material and pictures of the real events give the viewer even more assurance that this film is no joke despite some humorous scenes. From the great 70's feel to the very good Directing by Ben Affleck "Argo" is without a doubt a film I surely recommend.
I thought it was teeeerrrrrriibleeee.
Very good movie!
Cotilleando sobre el segundo oscar de Ben Affleck me he topado con esta película, intrigante y cruda donde se vive la dura realidad de esos difíciles momentos que vivieron estas personas en Irán. Me ha encantado como te mantiene tenso y expresa esos instantes de agonía y desesperación. Me he quedado gratamente sorprendido y me doy cuenta de las grandes películas que hay por ver, así que a leer y buscar mas joyas como estas. #Lexord
ANTI IRAN, ANTI MUSLIM, FEAR MONGERING CIA PROPAGANDA FLICK, NOTHING MORE!!!
Ben Affleck's latest bit of Oscar bait effectively balls up the tension, drama and political tripwires of the Iranian hostage crisis without feeling overly dense or inapproachable. An impressive, authentic collection of '70s wardrobe and scenery is partially to thank, with bad hair and cigarette smoke billowing about freely, and goes a long ways toward immersing its audience in the era. The abundance of distinct, colorful characters and speedy editing, though, are what I found most appreciable.
At times it almost feels like one long montage, with a short attention span and lots of quick cuts, but a nose for pertinent info and several key performances from its cast add enough substance to flesh things out nicely. Although Affleck's grim, game-faced leading character is often subdued to a fault, his Hollywood contacts (Alan Arkin and John Goodman), Washington supervisor (Bryan Cranston) and scared-stiff American refugees make up for those inadequacies with vigor.
Alternatingly funny, adventurous, powerful and intense, it's a melting pot of emotion with a hectic, exhilarating third act.
Quite suspenseful, had me on the edge of my seat almost the entire time, especially in the end. Highly recommend it.
It´s a good movie, sure...but an Oscar?! seriously? -.- What a poor yea then... ( haven´t seen all top movies yet... )
IMO, Django should have won the best motion picture award.
However, Argo is quite good as well (way better than Lincoln) and it kinda makes up for Affleck.
Argo is full of distorted truth!
One of the best movies of the year! A little known bit of history.
really solid movie, even with the conclusion being obvious, it keeps you on edge for every second
Honestly pretty underwhelming. The tension is undercut by the fact that you know how it's going to end. Even more disappointing once you find out how historically inaccurate it is.
A little slow at the beginning. But when the film reaches it climax, it's all worth it.
History can provide perfectly movie-shaped stories, and Argo relate this one quite well. Wish I'll be able to see the real argo movie ;)
@hagbard How to win an Oscar. Step #1: Make a pro-American movie.
Alternatively make one about a person with an extreme disability.
Based on a true story, so it must be good, at least it should...
Affleck continues give us another thriller story. cant wait to see the next film by him.
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
It's only not getting a 10 due to historical inaccuracies regarding New Zealand, Great Britain and Canada. I don't understand why their heroic efforts couldn't have been written into the screenplay.
Great story , great movie !!
This film would have been better if it had stayed closer to the truth. All the odd moments that seemed wrong to me never in fact happened.
Excellent, though not historically accurate. Ben Affleck was dynamite!
It's pretty decent, but there are a lot of missed opportunities here. With the opening sequence it draws a compelling, nuanced political backdrop that's used as a jumping-off point for the story. I wish it had explored way more of that, because while director Ben Affleck likes to pretend that this has been a story about international diplomacy at the end of the film, the struggles and political intricacies of the Argo operation never really come to the foreground. Instead, what's delivered here is a relatively safe crowdpleaser. The focus mostly lies on the extraction mission, and while that's a great device for building tension, there are scenes where I can just feel the authenticity slipping away. Look no further than the 10-15 minute interlude that takes place in Hollywood where the dialogue, staging and tone feel like they come from a different film, or the final set piece at the airport where Affleck amps up the conventional Hollywood theatrics so much that it stretches any believability (and if you get a similar feeling during those scenes it's for good reason, because none of that stuff actually happened). Still, this is a fast moving triller with a really unique hook and a few nail biting sequences. I loved the opening and Bazaar sequences for their intricate editing that brings out the most tension. The acting is solid, though they could've gone way further in developing these characters, because neither Affleck, Cranston nor any of the hostages are playing the most compelling characters. In terms of filmmaking, Affleck continues his post-Paul Greengrass style that was also present in Gone Baby Gone and The Town (fast editing, tight close-ups), however this time he combines that style with film grain and retro lighting in order to get closer to the time period of the late 70s. While this is overall aesthetically an interesting film, he's a little too eager to shove period detail in your face (although he doesn't go as crazy with that as he later would with Air). The score, besides a few cultural specific references, is quite forgettable and used in all the predictable ways one would expect from a Hollywood thriller in 2012. Overall, this is a pretty fine film, though quite safe and diplomatic. In that way it was the only logical contender to win the top prize from the Academy Awards: an institution that likes to be safe and diplomatic.
6.5/10
This serious drama is not really my cup of tea. However, Affleck/Cranston/Goodman are undeniably remarkable and this one will surely be loved by those that appreciate the genre more than I do!
Rating: 3.5/5 - 8/10 - Would Recommend
would have been a good movie, but It makes me sick when someone takes God's name in vain!
"If I'm doing a fake movie, it's gonna be a fake hit."
Maybe a little overhyped, but you just had to be there in theaters when it first came out to get those goosebumps during tense moments. Even if you don't like the story that much, it is hard to dispute that Ben Affleck can be a good director when his heart is in it.
Ben Affleck’s matured quite a bit as director and I thought he did a good job here. Particularly outstanding editing. Makes things easier when you have such an enthralling story that lends itself to moviemaking, though. I could have done without the unnecessary Hollywood chase scene at the end, but that’s a quibble I can ignore for the most part.
really well made thriller! loved the look ben affleck's got going on and the action scenes are insanely good got u on the edge of your seat n everything. dont care if it was oscar bait it was good oscar bait
ARGO FUCK YOURSELF
Ben Affleck does it again!
9/10
Another very good film by Ben Affleck. The storyline is really interesting and I didn't know anything about it beforehand so that was very exciting.
Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic. Great cast.
A solid thriller. The last act is very intense. The first two acts do a good job with setting everything up. Great acting all around.
I'm ashamed of Western civilisation which caused the Iranian revolution, but wanna applaud their actions which saved hostages.
Not Mentioning Algeria's Contribution in the Affair.
Sham On You.
Very solid entertainment, although it allegedly took quite some liberties with the historic facts. I guess that's the price to get a movie made about real events.
the movie started well showing the cause for the political conflict, he showed pressure, the violence, fear and this kept me on high expectations [for nothing]. we must separate this film into two extremes: politician conflict, which brings the protest, alleged forgery and a little tension at the end. but the idea of making a film to enter the Iran region, on argo this idea is poorly developed and has few information, she broke my thoughts, expectations, and heart. for this reason this film should not be on the list of nominees for the Oscar 2012 and he is only ranked as good
Very good movie, thrilling in the last minutes.
There's not much I can say about this that hasn't been said. It's really good. Well acted and directed. There's a great deal of tension build-up and it's done well without melodrama, and even with touches of light humor. It also tells a fairly well-rounded story and actually bothers to tell you the history of Iran's and the West's relationship up to the revolution. All in all, a good film and recommended.
It was really great , Ben Affleck is extraordinary .
A bit of a slow starter at first but good and to the point
I was born just after these events so I cannot personally relate to the story, but it is worth watching if you can. It won an oscar so hey.
The movie was well done and very topical for the world we live in. I personally believe that the swearing was excessive and not needed to tell this story and thus could not recommend this invaluable story to any family.
It's a good movie. I'm not sure I understand all the hand waving about historical accuracy. This is Hollywood after all. They don't DO history. They do BASED on historical events i.e. some names and events may have been changed in order to fit the span of the movie. It's not quite the same thing. It's as though people have never watched a Hollywood movie. People also don't seem to understand that Hollywood != the US or the US government but whatever. I'm so tired of trying to explain it to, well, everyone.
And no, it didn't deserve the Oscar but it's also not the first time the Academy has given the Oscar to one film when another was far more deserving. Again, it's as though people haven't been paying attention (Brokeback Mountain vs Crash).
Well... it's a political/historical drama after all.
Sure it's based on great true events - but other then that it's nothing special.
As well as @Pdr & @alixael I can not quite understand why it got the academy award for best motion picture... there were far more proper contestants.
Despite it looked & felt like the 70's there was nothing else remarkable.
It had many "Will they make it?" moments - but actually it's very predictable from the very beginning. So it's a no brainer.
The cast did a good job, even my name pal Ben & of course Bryan Cranston (aka: Walter White, aka: Heisenberg) fantastic as always - this guy has probably the greatest voice on this planet :D
But best IMO was this Iran soldier at the airport, no kidding!
Plus it had Coach Eric Taylor, and John Goodman c'mon he is in everything right now ;D
My conclusion:
If you have seen "Munich" (2005) http://trakt.tv/movie/munich-2005
you pretty much have seen this one.
Movies like: Munich, Ali, and Argo don't fall into the category action, they don't have that much entertainment factor - from my point of few they serve more as a historical or political lesson.
Wow. Far more better than I expected it.
The plot seems so stupid that I was really curios to watch that movie - and I didn't get disappointed.
No boring scenes in it - good actors - good story.
Very good one, but I still think Ang Lees Life of Pi deservers the Oscar as best movie! :P
magnificent, only Django and Lincoln rival this for film of the year.
Good movie, but I'm sure a lot of dramatic license was taken with some aspects of the film
As opposed to many, I wasn't alive at the time and I hadn't studied the 'Canadian Caper' before watching it - therefore to the unaware viewer such as I it was a harrowing, dramatic, and solid film from start to finish. If you don't fancy some inaccuracies being stuck in your head, read about the real event afterwards, but don't ruin the movie. Sadly as with all films based on true and widely known events, those who knew the real event can't enjoy the movie quite as much as they already know how the plot pans out.
Unlike afly, I was fortunate enough to be in a quiet cinema (release of the movie in England was ridiculously underplayed - I saw more promotion in France than there was in England) - there were three other people in the audience. In a proper cinema screen. Ironic that the movie was preceded, as is customary nowadays, by the anti-piracy-love-cinema advert where the cinemas are dusty and deserted... it was like a ghost town in there. I can only hope that that was because Salisbury isn't quite the sort of place to have audiences widely interested in an "intelligent film" and not an omen for the cinema industry - seeing a film in the cinema is an unbeatable experience unless you build your own full-size cinema screen, as a large TV and a surround system don't quite match up. Films like this deserve to be seen on the big screen.
A known ending and yet I almost cried when they got out of the place. Even for a movie that was so serious, it had so much underlying humour, it made it a lot more fun to watch. The second half was much more faster than the first.
A fun movie.
Movie was decent enough from what I could gather, but it reminded me why I no longer go to the cinema, especially for quieter movies like this.
I could barely even hear the movie over the sound people stuffing popcorn in their faces for a consistent 2 1/2 hrs. I was left in awe at the sheer volume of food that could be consumed by a human being in a single sitting.
Seriously people it's a cinema, not a dining hall. Eat beforehand, or eat something quiet.
Perhaps one to wait for on DVD or catch the cinema when it's quiet :/
Shout by Mohamed AhmedBlockedParent2013-12-20T00:02:33Z
Argo expertly builds tension and makes you wonder whether the mission will succeed. Enjoyable, Suspenseful and well-acted.