1. jehangir

   10

   Argo is a triumph. It has tension, sincerity, mystery, artistic responsibility, entertainment value, technical expertise, a narrative arc and a thrilling respect for the tradition of how to tell a story with minimum frills and maximum impact. It's a great footnote to history, one of the best films of 2012 and a sure-fire contender on Oscar night.… Expand

   • Helpful? 14 of 23 users said Yes.
2. Scorpion

   8

   Compared to the book basis is laughable, but with cinematographic look is very interesting, because its narrative line is modern and funny, but knows how to be serious and rough, the dialogues are otimos especially when the topic is holiwood, the second best thing is the performance of Alan Arkin, who gives a satirical tone in the dialogues, another very interesting thing is the accuracy of the portrayal of facts acontecidos.Esse film proves that Ben Afleck can indeed perform well and drive good shape.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
3. Ziek

   5

   Ben's Argo and Lance's Medals
   
   What do these have in common? Both generated great gobs of money, both represent a dramatic distortion of the truth, both take another significant chunk out of American credibility.
   
   It is bad enough that a majority of America receives its education (17th or lower in world ranking) from movies, in Argo's case "based on a declassified true story". When Ben claimed, in a recent interview, that the reason the Canadians integral role (90% Canada/ 10% USA according to president Jimmy Carter and those actually involved) in freeing the hostages was not represented truthfully, he brushed it off quickly by commenting that "there was not enough time to fit it all in".
   
   In other words, for Ben, making the Americans "centre of the universe" even under the guise of docudrama, trumps truth. The reality is that the small role the CIA did actually play, had the real potential of getting the hostages killed on their way out of Iran. Historically (pun intended) the CIA espionage folk put a wrong date on the passport stamp which if not detected, and altered (again by a Canadian) would have meant instant detection, and potentially certain death on their way out of the airport not to mention what would have happened to the Canadian embassy personnel.
   
   Dramatic license must be extended to any historical account for time constraints or the inevitable lapse in research, however, when the focus is to distort and or pervert the truth, everyone involved suffers.
   
   Ben in recent award shows, still attempts to use his youthful ignorance and surprised-face to pass off this travesty of history. I don't buy that, or the movie nor should anyone interested in the truth. Historical accuracy can be every bit as dramatic and entertaining as BS with the added bonus of attracting a wider audience and staying on the charts for many more years.
   
   No doubt, all those, who have or will receive monetary gain from this schlock will rally to its defense, somehow. There is no defense, however, for the damage inflicted on the historical record, those who buy into that distortion, or the Canadians, and the lives of six US hostages whose lives depended on real intervention by real people.
   
   Ziek bamfrmcan… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
4. Neillos

   2

   This is a boring story. A CIA agent flies a commercial airliner into Tehran, and flies out two days later with six endangered Americans. There is no firefight, no border crossing, not even a romantic subplot. The entire appeal of this movie is that it is historical "based on true events" says the promo but it turns out the movie has little to do with what actually happened in 1980. The CIA played a small part in the rescue, the Canadians did all the work, and most of the scenes are complete bunk. Given the lack of historical content, Ben Affleck could have thrown in a car chase or two, a "traitor within" subplot, or maybe had the 747 pursued by Iranian fighter jets and chased off by a Sopwith camel. Better yet, have the aliens from Argo intervene on behalf of the good guys (assuming that is us). It's all crap history anyway.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 4 users said Yes.

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