Argo for all the excitement it’s creating and the over 100 Million Dollars it’s pulled in is almost BORING in the first one hour. And here are the reasons:
Ben Affleck’s character doesn’t have ANY OBSTACLE WHATSOEVER. And the ones they want us to believe he has just aren’t obstacles at all. There is one little speech or conversation and each and every obstacle is overcome. When its convincing this whole board of people its one conversation, when its convincing the make-up artist its one conversation, when its convinving this old timer of a movie producer its one conversation and a chance occurance of the news going on on screen. Then when they go to convince the writer to sell his script its one conversation with some slightly witty dialogue and they’ve overcome this hurdle also. So for this entire stretch of the movie the protagonist i.e. Affleck’s character lacks any real spark.
Even his equation with his son doesn’t have any specific flavour to it which makes us feel for it really. Everyone goes through a divorce, every leading man these days pines for his son but what makes us feel specifically for this equation? Is it a particular interaction between the father and the son? something unique about the way the son percieves the father? Nope.
The only time that our hero, (and you can only tell the true character of a hero when he’s faced with a TOUGH situation which he CANNOT overcome) shows some dynamism is when the group in Iran disagree with his plan. But even then its just one dialogue and some conversation which pushes him beyond even this obstacle. The only real time things start to get genuinely engaging is when the government pulls the plug on the mission. Because before that even the rehearsals for the enactment lack any real lustre. Because its an obstacle they can’t surmount with some witty dialogue and it forces both the HERO and his team into a situation which they cant TALK themselves out of and so its time for ACTION. His first real dramatic action was to TAKE this mission on in the first place but because there was hardly any real OBSTACLE we didn’t even get to feel the full dramatic impact of this. But when he decides to go against his orders and still get them out is the first time our heart goes out to him. And he seems like he’s actualy WOKEN up.
Even with regards to the guys who have to be rescued. Their equations with each other could have made us feel so much more, if there had been more characterisation built into them and their interactions with each other we could have been so much more moved. But alas we weren’t really.
Post Affleck’s character deciding to bring them back despite the operation having been legally shut down the film really picks up and of course we do want them to come back safe and so also Affleck. And the film is both engaging and makes us feel strongly for it.
Compare this to a ‘Kahaani’, ‘Lagaan’ or a ‘Chak De India’ where the protagonist has to work very hard THROUGH ACTION and not just words to overcome every step or then an ‘All The President’s Men’ or a ‘JFK’ if you want to stick to films about real incidents, the protagonist/s have to work really hard in ACTION right from the word go to get the results they want and move ahead each and every step of the way to succeeding with what they want to set about doing.
Hollywood seems to be as usual obsessed with films about itself. And a fair amount of credit goes to a film for being a film about Hollywood rather than being a GOOD SCRIPT.
Also unfortunately I couldn’t get over the idea that the VICTIM was supposed to be THE USA who has interfered with a country in such a sad way. The dictator who’s screwed the country over chooses to take Asylum in the US and they decide to protect him. Big Bully that the US is. Who are they to interfere in another country’s matters?