Argo (2012)

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Literary critic Stanley Fish says that the film is a standard caper film in which "some improbable task has to be pulled off by a combination of ingenuity, training, deception and luck." He goes on to describe the film's structure: "(1) the presentation of the scheme to reluctant and unimaginative superiors, (2) the transformation of a ragtag bunch of ne'er-do-wells and wackos into a coherent, coordinated unit and (3) the carrying out of the task." Although he thinks the film is good at building and sustaining suspense, he concludes, This is one of those movies that depend on your not thinking much about it; for as soon as you reflect on what's happening rather than being swept up in the narrative flow, there doesn't seem much to it aside from the skill with which suspense is maintained despite the fact that you know in advance how it's going to turn out. ... Once the deed is successfully done, there's really nothing much to say, and anything that is said seems contrived. That is the virtue of an entertainment like this; it doesn't linger in the memory and provoke afterthoughts.What can be added to this? Not much. What we got is a very very typical cliched edge-of-the-seat rescue mission movie with all the very predictable traits such as cliffhanger, last minute salvation, smart guys talk, and above all, very angelic good country prevaling over very demonic bad one. And am I the only one who is tired of all that endless four-letter depletive used so much and so every now and then that it really becomes tepid and fetid? Okay, the cast is awesome, soundtrack is spellbinding, the camera work is stunning, but then, we have just a nice wrapping paper with no afterthoughts once we consumed yet another trivial movie

I don't like to believe the myth that Hollywood loves movies about itself, but this movie proves that myth true better than any other I've seen. It's a cool story for sure, but it gets too wrapped up in the premise of making a fake movie. There is a lot of time spent shooting down other ideas and going through the process of publicizing a fake movie. It was necessary and sometimes entertaining to see, but it could have taken up less time. Even the "Argo f--- yourself" line adds to sense that the movie is rather full of itself.What I found more interesting was the details of the plan to rescue the six Canadians. Ben Affleck's character Tony is at his best when he's trying to get the hostages to buy into his plan and working to get them home. There was a much more human element to it, and they were more in line with what I think is more of the purpose of movies that are based on real events. When events are described in the news or in many historical books, it is easy to forget that they are about real people with real stakes, and dramatizations of such events help to put those sorts of things into better perspective. Argo is paced much faster and made a bit more entertaining than most non-fictional movies, but it neglects its characters for the most part.For these reasons, I don't agree with it winning the Best Picture Oscar. There was too much that could have been better, and a little too much narcissism laced into it. Perhaps someone who really enjoyed it could convince me of its value and quality, but I find it to be overrated and not true to itself. Overall Rating: 7.2/10.

A huge error in the movie is,, in every airport in the world, if there is a problem, the control tower normally call the plane and stops it. In this movie, this is an error, as the security runs after the plane instead of the control tower ordering the plane to not take off.Otherwise excellent and very interesting movie, but despite there are some technical faults in the movie, its been nominated in Oscars for the big ones. So, that another down side that its very political and show only one side of a particular country.

I had refused to watch Argo thinking that it would be a typical American film but after five years, I thought why not, let's see some action. I suppose the first thing non-Americans would notice is that it's immersed in stereotypes and clichés, making you say "oh come on!" many times. The depiction of Iranians, the CIA, Americans kicking ass as usual... When you read about the real story, a big "come on!!" comes out of your mouth. Either Ben Affleck really wanted to reflect things that way or simply applied the procedure for success by US standards. Now, if you just ignore all of these, you might watch Argo as a pastime BUT best picture award? Honestly, before watching the film, I vaguely remembered about Oscars but had no idea that it won the best picture award. How is that possible? Life of Pi was among the nominees that year and Argo won?? Affleck's formula seems to have worked out.