Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
"Argo f*ck yourself"
Rod - wrote on 05/01/2013
Iranian revolution explodes and six Americans managed to escape from their embassy and hid themselves at the Canadian Embassy. Soon, the Iranian authorities will figure out about this escaped Americans. Now, a CIA agent has to get them out, by faking a film production.
***
Wow! REALLY WOW! I did not expect this film to be this brilliant! At first I thought it would be another boring Oscar-nominee movie, but I was completely wrong! I love how the production made it to look as if they filmed it on the exact date and time of this based-on-true-story film. I felt like I was really there and was able to witness the whole thing.
The film delivered a mixture of good drama and excitement, and fun at some parts of it. Good screenplay, good directing obviously, and I should say, good …
Rating of
3.5/4
"Argo" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/20/2013
A CIA hostage extraction specialist is called in to retrieve six US Embassy workers hiding out in the Canadian consulate in Iran after the civil uprising of 1979. Argo reminded me very much of The Bank Job, a British heist movie from a few years ago starring Jason Statham. They share a similar mix of humour, politics and history, done in a 70s thriller style format with a plots that seem extremely implausible and yet were based on actual events. Ben Affleck shows some excellent attention to detail in recreating not only the period during which they occurred, but the cultural and political climate and even casting actors who resemble their real life counterparts. The formula is almost a cross between Munich and Ocean's Eleven as the preposterous idea of faking a 70s sci-fi movie to …
Rating of
3/4
Argo is Overrated
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 03/06/2013
Can you spell overrated? I sure hope I can because I’m going to be using the word a lot in this review.
Argo recently won the Oscar for best picture and I can’t honestly say I’m surprised. I’ve never really been in tune with the Academy’s taste in movies, and while I did like a few of their choices (Anna Karenina’s win for best costume design was the highlight of the evening for me,) I was a little disappointed by Argo’s win for best picture. Was I surprised? No (in fact I won a bet with my friend over it, he thought Lincoln would win,) I was just hoping that a better movie would win this year.
I liked Argo fine. It was an enjoyable thriller with some decent acting, but that’s all. There was nothing in the film to push it from good to great. I saw the movie …
Rating of
4/4
Riveting, edge of the seat drama
sreekirch - wrote on 02/17/2013
Directed by Ben Affleck
Starring Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin
4/4
Iran hostage crisis, the main concept of argo (A fake space film) takes the best of it and Affleck hammers the viewers with wit, energy and temperament. It swivels around like a spinning top, tied to a long rope. Argo is filled with terrific performances, great premise and startling screenplay. The tagline states that film was fake, but the mission was real. Indeed, Argo succeeds in edge of the seat surprises. It is richly narrated with gorgeous writing skills. Affleck delivers what an Oscar pick should be! I may not give him the best actor in the film, but I am surely considering Argo as one of the contenders for best film in Oscars. Talking about the premise, it is quite interesting and the way Affleck took the story …
Rating of
3.5/4
Earns All Its High Praise
mitchellyoung - wrote on 01/02/2013
Ben Affleck is three for three in directing effective, tense, and revealing films. Argo is his latest effective creation, a film steeped in history that thoroughly immerses the audience into an era of tense politics and suspicions. The film's cast disappears into their roles and is filled by mostly character actors, which helps the film feel less "Hollywood." Affleck draws tension from the smallest of scenes and creates a political cat-and-mouse game that fully earns its triumphant ending without the copious use of explosions or stylized action. Affleck himself, as the film's starring role, takes a reserved approach to the portrayal of the tortured CIA veteran posed with the difficult task of rescuing the hostages. One of 2012's best, no doubt.
Rating of
4/4
Affleck's Argo blew me away!
Lee - wrote on 11/29/2012
I had a feeling upon seeing the first trailer for Ben Affleck's 'Argo' mostly due to the story within as i remember as a child still to this day watching in anticipation to the news chanel as the 6 hostages were escaping the iron grip of the country Iran. I always new even back then even though at my age and still to this day the Star Wars movie was mostly in my thoughts , that the story of the escaping hostages would make one hell of a movie and thanks to Ben Affleck's directing abilities that far outshine his acting endeavours, we got a brilliantly executed story here, although with alot of historical inaccuracies, still kept close to what actually went on during that frantic time.
The Iranian hostage crisis took place from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981 444 days in total …
Rating of
3.5/4
Argo - Much Better Than You May Think
Nick - wrote on 10/27/2012
Argo is a movie that isn't getting as much hype as it should, it has fallen under the radar quite a bit, despite a lot of trailers on TV, mainly because it isn't considered a typical blockbuster hit. Argo is based on a true story. It is hard to tell how closely they followed the actual facts, but if they did embellish, they did it in all the right places, without making the movie unbelievable. The acting is great, and the actors are spot on and actually look like the real people. The movie is pretty long and takes time to build, but give it a chance, you won't be disappointed. I expect it to be up for some type of Oscar nomination, and not the stereo typical kind, but one that is actually deserving because of how well it is put together and the emotional suspense and nervousness the …
Rating of
3.5/4
Argo review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/24/2012
The CIA creates a fake film to rescue Americans from Tehran. CIA specialist Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) asks assistance from Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston), John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). This was at par with the drama of The Town but not nearly as entertaining as Gone Baby Gone. It still shows how great Affleck can becomes behind the camera though shows dexterity on screen. The documentary footage were useful to have an impact on the film. Great cast but a bit too much which kills the entertainment value and character development. Soundtrack was applicable and overall feel likes a 70's film. Some noteworthy quotes: John Chambers - "Look, if you're going to do this, you're going to do this... You can't build cover stories around a movie that …
Rating of
3.5/4
Argo - A Real Good Film About a Fake Movie
Chris Kavan - wrote on 10/18/2012
Movies based on "true" stories seem to fall into two categories - those that take sever liberties with the subject and bend them to the point of farce and those that stick very true to the story, but are often times dull. I'm happy to say that Argo manages to balance that tightrope act pretty much perfectly, presenting a story that while I'm sure stretches things a bit, keeps itself in check and is quite thrilling at the same time.
Based on the 1979 Iranian hostage crises, six Americans manage to flee the embassy before it is locked down and find themselves holed up at the home of the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor (played by Victor Garber in the film). Knowing it's only a matter of time before the Iranians figure out there are six people missing, the U.S. State Department works on a …
Rating of
3.5/4
Review: Argo
MikePA - wrote on 10/13/2012
Argo is not the great film I was anticipating, but it's still a fanastic thriller, one that proves Ben Afflack as being an ambitious, admirable, and gifted director. Argo is a very watchable movie, and it's worth seeing just for the story alone and how well it's told. But Ben Afflack adds so much more to this movie that makes it more compelling, such as nail-biting suspense, great comic relief from John Goodman and Alan Arkin, and taut pacing. Afflack doesn't only deliver suspense in the escape sequences with the hostages, but the dialog between the CIA builds so much tension and curiosity. Will the hostages make it out alive? There is one scene in particular towards the end that crackles and crumbles with sheer tension. The sequences set in Iran during the crises are filmed …
