When it comes to true stories that are captured into motion picture, often times, the people of Hollywood like to toy around and mess with facts and sometimes make it unrealistic to the viewers, especially those who know the back story behind what really happened. Obviously it’s impossible to capture every specific detail, but key elements and events are imperative for a successful story to be told on film. Attention to detail is the operative phrase at hand here – Ben Affleck is known for his directing ability and he’s seemingly become not only a great actor, but a great director as well, much like another great Actor/Director, George Clooney.
Being highly detailed in any facet of life requires you to do your homework, though we may hate the research, but we may uncover something interesting on the other side. If you don’t know the story, I’ll give you a brief synopsis, but it was evident in the trailer: 52 Americans were taken hostage by local Iranians at the United States Embassy in Tehran, but 6 of them were able to flee and seek housing and protection from the Canadian Embassy (because we’re awesome). This movie was about how the 6 Americans were rescued by the CIA.
Ben Affleck deserves whatever accolades come towards him this year for this movie, because it was simply top-notch. To be able to play the protagonist in a major movie and still keep up with the directing at a high level, it’s not easy to do, and it’s really something like only a slight few can achieve. His character, whom he plays Tony Mendez, is responsible for getting the hostages back to safety. How he does that is plan an unorthodox mission to get them out, and it requires the help of some Hollywood big shots, played by John Goodman & Alan Arkin. The chemistry of the two brought a comedic relief for such a serious movie.
It’s an election year, and it’s no coincidence that the occurrence of the event in this movie also happened during a time when Jimmy Carter & Ronald Regan were battling for Presidency during this time of crisis. Many people may look at it as political propaganda, but the truth is that…this really happened. What propaganda is there to be spread here? I’m not a political activist, so I’m going to get involved with issues I have no grounds speaking on, but the truth of the matter is that this was a real issue, lives were at stake, and it was because the United States wouldn’t give up one of Iran’s own to adhere to disciplinary actions. I felt like this movie showed more than just the average ‘good guys vs. bad guys and the good guys win’ movie. It went more into the process of Mendez getting them out, and also trying to get the government to cooperate with the plan at stake.
This was a heart wrenching movie, because there were so many dramatic moments when you didn’t know what to really expect, and if you don’t know the story, it makes it gives it more of an exciting feel to it, because Mendez is dealing with his own personal battles, and at the same time, he’s responsible for the lives of 6 people while the nation is seeking to get deadly by storming in by any means necessary – The American Way. I like the fact that it showed that Canada had a hand in the operation because truly, without them, this operation wouldn’t have gone the way it was supposed to. A few Canadian references (including the PROPER way on how to pronounce ‘Toronto’) were things that I appreciated in this movie, but at the same time, it shed light on a political issue that changed the way on how negotiable tactics were executed in those situations (See – Jesse Jackson in 1990). There was even a reference to the mythical ‘Jason’ the Argonaut, but I don’t think it served any reference to the movie, just the title.
The movie was captivating and luring because of the story behind it. The premise, the circumstances, the time length to get the trapped Americans out, the execution of the plan, and everything that could go wrong, could have went wrong, and sometimes it did, but the thing every hero does, is act on instinct. The supporting cast played a great role in recreating this great story, and the look and feel of the movie felt like it was done in the 80s, so that’s a hats off for the production team in general.
Would I watch this movie again? Yes. In a heartbeat, because it literally had me from start to finish. It was nothing short of dramatic and it didn’t get dull because this was a movie that was based on a situation that meant that time couldn’t be wasted at all. Everyone was on edge, the intensity wasn’t over dramatic to the point of unrealistic, but you could tell when it was fictitious against the storyline. I’d definitely recommend this movie to anyone who’s interested in American Politics, but it’s not all about the politics, it’s more about how one man and a crazy idea was able to go into one of the most hostile countries in the world at that time, to risk his own life and 6 others just to get them set free. That’s what I loved about the movie; it’s definitely one for the years to come that will be talked about as one of the great movies made in the past 10 years, and I stand by that statement. Go watch it, you will enjoy it, but for now, that’s just my view; just my opinion

That’s My Word & It STiXX