Around a decade ago, Ben Affleck was ridiculed in Hollywood by critics and audiences for his poor acting skills in films such as Pearl Harbor (2001), Daredevil (2002) and the much-derided Gigli (2003). This was a far cry from his earlier Oscar-winning success as a co-writer alongside Matt Damon for their work in Good Will Hunting (1997) which showed that he had potential to do well in the industry. But having turned his attention to directing, Affleck has managed to gain some respect back with his recent work on Gone Baby Gone (2007) and The Town (2010). That impressive form continues with his latest film, the political thriller Argo, which keeps him on top of his game behind the camera and enables him to shift the bad actor tag as he looks to join the likes of Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson by becoming an actor-turned-Oscar-winning-director….

Based on a true story, the film depicts the chaotic events of the Iranian Revolution in 1979 which saw militants storming the US embassy and taking it’s employees hostage. Six staff members were able to escape and hide out in the Canadian ambassador’s home, but they soon realised that they were in a dangerous predicament and couldn’t afford to be caught. The CIA end up bringing in specialist Tony Mendez (Affleck) to try and help them in their attempts to rescue the staff members but struggle to think of any solid ideas. However Mendez manages to come up with a bizarre plan which might just work. He decides to seek the help of Hollywood big-shots John Chambers (Goodman) and Lester Siegel (Arkin) in creating a fake film called Argo. The crazy idea sees Mendez risking his life by travelling to Iran and laying out the plan to the six members that they will pretend to be Canadian film-makers who are in the country to use location shots. The stakes are high for everyone involved as the fate of these people rests on Mendez’s shoulders as he bids to get them out.

What sounds like a ridiculous plot turns out to be actual fact as Affleck succeeds in making one of the year’s best films. The mixture of political thriller and Hollywood satire is pieced together for a fascinating watch as the young film-maker continues to build up his directing resume. Carefully adapting the story from Joshuah Bearman’s WEIRD article, he is able to take inspiration from the political films of the 1970s such as All the President’s Men (1976) by using grainy and dull colours to convey the film’s claustrophobic period in human history. It allows us to understand the national differences between both America and Iran in which the former is depicted as vibrant particularly in the Hollywood segment whereas the latter presents a bleak look of a civilization which is overcome by political suffering. The sight of people being hung in the streets is enough to prove that. Affleck’s use of archive footage enables us to learn more about the history of Iran’s political problems which is something to appreciate if you’re a fan of real-life films. Within the opening few minutes, you are immediately drawn in by how tense everything is for the Iranian rebels and for the US Embassy workers who desperately try to rid evidence from their potential captors. Two more similarly intense scenes later on add to the tension for our escapees especially in the dramatic climax at the airport with Alexandre Desplat’s suspenseful score used to build up the fear. Fortunately the film’s dark moments are balanced well with some of the humour injected in from a terrific script particularly when Mendez encounters Chambers and Siegel as the trio rely on mickey-taking dialogue during their discussions about making the fake film. Another advantage with Affleck as a director is that he is able to give a good, grounded performance as he did with his previous film The Town. But rather than dominating the film as an actor, he allows his versatile trio of supporting stars to gain the plaudits. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston continues to go from strength to strength as the expressive CIA supervisor Jack O’Donnell which is a far cry from his cunning performance as Walter White in the AMC television series. Oscar-winner Alan Arkin and the underrated John Goodman are both perfectly-matched as the witty Hollywood producers who are dragged out of their comfort zones as they face big pressure in helping Mendez with his mission.

Whilst Affleck does a magnificent job with basing the film on fact, he also succumbs to going down the Hollywood route by making it a little over-dramatic in the climax. Whilst the airport sequence is edge-of-the-seat stuff, it turns out that in reality, the escapees were never in any serious danger compared to what goes on in the film. However this will only mean something to those who watched the film and then decided to read up about it afterwards. It is also hard at times to emotionally invest yourself in the hostages as they aren’t really given enough background and instead this can make you care more about whether the plan could actually be pulled off.

VERDICT: The stakes are high in Ben Affleck’s pulsating, true-life thriller as the ridiculed actor-turned-acclaimed director creates a worthy challenger for the Oscars. The next mission begins. All together now, Argo-F**k Yourself!