User blog:Porterfield/Argo Review Roundup

Argo comes out today, and the reviews are amazing! Before following the links to see what some of the top critics had to say, here are some key points taken from the many reviews I read:
 * Nobody was expecting humor in this suspenseful political thriller, but surprisingly, this movie induces a lot of laughter.
 * With his first attempt at a feature film, screenwriter Chris Terrio hits it out of the park as his screenplay is what takes the film from good to great.
 * After 3 films, it's official: Ben Affleck is a better director than an actor. His best acting performances have been in the movies he has directed, which further proves this point.
 * The few less-than-stellar reviews never mention the acting, the script, the cinematography, or anything having to do with entertainment value. The critics who "thought it was okay" only talked about the cultural sensitivity and political implications of the film.
 * Argo is the best movie of the year at this point, but don't forget that Lincoln, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Django Unchained, and some other highly-anticipated films will still be out before year's end.

Loved It
===Claudia Puig - USA Today=== Score: 4 out of 4 stars

Excerpt: Fusing suspense and humor in a political thriller is a tricky prospect, but Argo is more than up to the task. Argo is the rare nail-biter that's also riotously funny as it focuses on a real-life incident that was not exactly ripped from the headlines.

Bill Goodykoontz - Arizona Republic
Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Excerpt: However good a job Ben Affleck did in directing "The Town" (very), he ups his game here. There are so many places he could have steered the film wrong. Yet he stays the course, making "Argo" easily one of the best movies of the year.

Kenneth Turan - LA Times
Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Excerpt: "Argo" takes you back... to a time when Hollywood regularly turned out smart and engaging films that crackled with energy and purpose. Very much like Clint Eastwood before him, actor turned actor-director Ben Affleck not only has a passion for those kinds of throwback entertainments, he knows that the only way to get them on the screen effectively is to do the work himself.

Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun-Times
Score: 4 out of 4 stars

Excerpt: The craft in this film is rare. It is so easy to manufacture a thriller from chases and gunfire, and so very hard to fine-tune it out of exquisite timing and a plot that's so clear to us we wonder why it isn't obvious to the Iranians.

Manohla Dargis - New York Times
Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Excerpt: Mr. Affleck handles his own roles, on camera and behind it, with a noticeable lack of self-aggrandizement. He doesn’t show off with his direction or the performances, going for detail instead of bombast with eerie silences, traded glances, trembling gestures and beaded sweat. making it a homage to actual intelligence and an example of the same.

Peter Travers - Rolling Stone
Score: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Excerpt: Just so we're straight, Ben Affleck doesn't merely direct Argo, he directs the hell out of it, nailing the quickening pace, the wayward humor, the nerve-frying suspense. Hold off on the sniping. I didn't say Affleck was the next Hitchcock. I'm saying job well done.

Tim Robey - The Telegraph
Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Excerpt: Chris Terrio, whose nimble and accomplished script strikes me as the most Oscar-friendly element on show, plays up the wackier side of the scenario – it's right there – without ever becoming glibly oblivious about the wider stakes. I imagine with slight horror what Aaron Sorkin in world-affairs jester mode would have tried to do with it.

Christy Lemire - Associated Press
Score: 4 out of 4 stars

Excerpt: Working with a top-notch production team, including cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and composer Alexandre Desplat, Affleck creates a vivid `70s vibe while moving fluidly between these intersecting storylines. While steeped in the trends and filmmaking style of the decade, "Argo" still feels immediate and relevant. Affleck's best film yet is also one of the best films of the year.

Andrew Schenker - Slant Magazine
Score: 2 out of 4 stars

Excerpt: No one would deny the thrill of seeing the Americans affect their daring escape. It's only in retrospect, when we wonder what exactly it is we've been cheering, that the momentary excitement gives way to a bitter reminder of how little the American mindset has changed.

Glenn Kenny - MSN Movies
Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Excerpt: Affleck, with an able assist from editor William Goldenberg, intercuts a lot of parallel time footage to nail-biting effect and never puts a foot wrong during the climax. It's sufficiently impressive that the viewer is apt not to notice that, while the movie's prologue provides a fair amount of historical context (some would call it hand-wringing) about how the Iranian people's irritation with the West is arguably justified, once we get to the finale, the entirety of Persia seems to have become a bunch of wild-eyed bearded homicidal maniacs.

Hated It
No top critics despised this movie. If you find any extremely negative reviews, please post them in the comments section below.

Wikian Reviews
What did you think of Argo? Loved it! Thought it was good. Thought it was okay. Hated it!