Argo: Blu Ray Review
Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Entertainment
Fresh from sweeping every ceremony, Argo finally arrives on the small screen with the mantle of Best Picture from the 2013 Oscars in tow.
Ben Affleck stars as Tony Mendez, a CIA agent with a floppy 70s haircut and slightly dodgy beard, who finds himself in the middle of a stand off between the two nations. When Islamic extremists storm the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, 52 people are taken hostage.
But a group of six made their way out of the Embassy and end up holed up with the Canadian ambassador (Victor Garber) at his home - as tensions increased in the stand off, the CIA (led by Bryan Cranston's Jack O'Donnell) try to do whatever they can to get them out.
That's when Mendez comes up with a plan - pretend to be out in Iran, scouting to make a scifi film and smuggle the six out from under their noses. With no other realistic options in front of them (or as the CIA describe it "the best bad plan we have"), the wheels are put in motion....
Argo is a thrilling and nimbly dextrous piece of film making from Affleck, who, once again, demonstrates he has the directing chops to bring a drama vividly to life. It's what Affleck's got so right with this story - the mix of light and dark; he never appears to overplay the seriousness of the situation for anything other than the sake of the drama - and the end result is that you're captivated in your seat as the tension ratchets up towards the end and you wonder whether the operation will be successful or fail, resulting in everyone's death. It's a masterful piece of movie-making and an essential small screen purchase.
Extras: A 9 minute extended cut, commentary, docos and more make this a great set of extras
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