Movie Review "Argo"

Ben Affleck both directs stars in this dramatization of the 1980 CIA rescue of five American embassy employees from revolutionary Iran. Five people manage to escape from the US embassy during the take over by Iranian students. They manage to make their way to the home of the Canadian ambassador. Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck, is a CIA “exfiltration” expert who is called on by the State Department to secure their rescue. He forms a CIA sponsored Holloywood production company that is to use Iranian sites for a science fiction movie titled “Argo.” The production company is in fact staffed by the five embassy employees. John Goodman and Alan Arkin have small, but well performed roles as Hollywood regulars used in the formation of the production company. The plot, performance and story development are great. Were it not for the salty language, the movie could have earned a PG-13 rating.