Argo (2012)

A hugely successful Oscar-winning film starring Ben Affleck? Directed by Affleck? There shall be bacon falling from the skies today.

OK, Affleck's career as a director hasn't been so bad, and he has won an Oscar before (though that was despite the fact that he starred in "Good Will Hunting") but his acting-credits never really was anything but a standing joke. Nevertheless, this is surprisingly good.

And why not start with the actors? Affleck actually is somewhat of a leech here. It's meant as a compliment. He has surrounded himself with the exceptional talent of Alan Arkin and John Goodman as well as added some brilliant casting with Tate Donovan and Scoot McNairy receiving most of my plaudits. Pairing Arkin and Goodman is actually a stroke of pure genius and as long most of the best dialogues and in-house jokes lie with them, you simply can not fail. Affleck mostly walks around with his new beard looking sad, tired or both and does exactly what he is supposed to. It works because the story here isn't primarily built around the protagonist. So he's still not a good actor, he has (seemingly) just gotten very good at trying to marginalize his shortcomings. Kudos!

The story is well-written (Oscar-winning no less) and never seems dull. In the first 2/3 of the film there actually is a lot of build-up and even some politics. But it's smart, filled with quality characters and good dialogue so it's a good thing. It actually feels great to see that some film-makers still dare to be smart as the idiotic films where any halfwit with a semi-functioning brain is able to follow every lead and angle seem to be taking over Hollywood. And TV... but that's beside the point.

I have huge difficulty seeing why they injected the wife/son-angle here though. It brings absolutely nothing to the story, nor to any of the characters (apart from trying to explain the sad face of Affleck) and is, quite frankly, sentimental tripe. Better than sentimentality are the scenes of claustrophobia and great fear, as in the markets.

But the last half hour or so is riveting. An absolute nail-biter as Affleck uses all the tricks in the book to keep you at the edge of your seat. And, boy howdy, is he ever successful. Granted, if you have seen a lot of films, some of his tricks are on the cheap side, and perhaps there are a few too many. It still doesn't change the fact that I was almost afraid to blink.

Is this the best movie of 2013? I doubt it, though I haven't seem them all. But it is a very smart political thriller with some interesting historical aspects and suspense in abundance. Affleck as a director will be interesting to follow in the years to come.

8/10