95% Argo

All Critics (186) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (177) | Rotten (9)

'Argo' is one of the best movies of the year.

Argo has that solid, kick-the-tires feel of those studio films from the 70s that were about something but also entertained. Only it's as laugh outright amusing as it is sobering.

The movieland satire is laid on thick, but it's also deadly accurate. Schlock has never seemed so patriotic, and Arkin and Goodman have rarely been so good.

Argo is a rollicking yarn, easily the most cohesive and technically accomplished of Affleck's three films so far, but a part of me wishes the director hadn't cast himself in the lead role.

If nothing else, it proves that every so often, the CIA can pull something off - and that yes, Canadians are just about the nicest people on the planet.

The film is a whopper of a tale, one designed for Oscar nominations, Best Picture and Best Director among them.

The film has heart and brains as well as balls, the screenplay delivering a clear and strong story without sacrificing either political or personal context

As a real life human drama, it is extraordinary. As a thrilling movie experience, it is unmissable

A thoroughly enjoyable, well put together movie that flies by, works well and largely succeeds at what it is trying to accomplish. Also one of those movies where it feels like "I should LOVE it - but don't."

It's okay to take a few liberties in the name of a good story

A funny trip to Hollywood and gripping escape from Tehran.

The scenes involving Goodman and Arkin are ribald and laugh-out-loud funny. You couldn't ask for two more expert actors to play these jaded movie veterans.

If there's one lesson to be gleaned from director Ben Affleck's relentlessly tense, painstakingly detailed Argo, it's that we should consider the possibility that our history has been manipulated more than many of us would care to admit.

Argo smacks of being another dreary Oscar contender but in actuality it's destined to be one of the fall's most purely enjoyable films.

Ar-go see them in action.

... a crackling good suspense thriller ...

I was literally in tears for parts of Argo, a purely physical reaction, not an emotional one, to deal with the tension... That isn't only some serious movie magic, it's a downright master class in suspense filmmaking from director Ben Affleck.

Under its own terms as an upscale mainstream thriller, it's a total success. This is classy moviemaking, from its well-observed performances to immaculate eye for period detail.

a crackerjack based-on-a-true story thriller that finally allows actor/director Ben Affleck to demonstrate his behind-the-camera muscles in a location other than his native Boston

[A] perfectly lovely, immensely watchable, intermittently shallow, and slightly bloated thriller.

Successfully manages to be respectful about the turbulent events and function as an exciting Hollywood spy thriller.

As the suspense intensifies, it becomes increasingly obvious that many of these suspense-laden plot points are simply made up. The story turns into a standard Hollywood formula and it loses credibility because of that.

Argo feels like a proper old-fashioned 70s thriller, the kind Alan J Pakula used to make: taut and lean, but with dialogue to die for, plus character and attitude to spare.

Impeccably directed, superbly written and brilliantly acted, this is a terrifically entertaining thriller that gets everything right and confirms Ben Affleck as a major directing talent.

For a story about out-of-the-box thinking and high-risk heroism, Argo plays it surprisingly safe.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/argo_2012/

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