In a departure from his first two films Gone, Baby Gone and The Town, Ben Affleck leaves his hometown of Boston and ventures to Washington, D.C. and Iran in Argo, a film that’s “based on a declassified true story.” Judging from the trailer, it offers a bit of everything. Dramatic tension, thriller, and a little comedy. With this first trailer, it looks like another impressive film from a man who has shown that he’s a better director than he is an actor.
Based on the Wired article “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,” Argo involves a real CIA operation to rescue six diplomats from Tehran after the 1979 Iranian revolution. The plan consisted of government agents in disguise as a movie crew helping to shoot a Hollywood movie in the Middle East. Enlisting the help of a producer played by Alan Arkin, Affleck and his team go to Iran to make the sci-fi flick titled “Argo”.
While the plan sounds absurd, the fact that it is indeed real has to be admired, as Affleck briefly shows how dangerous such an operation is. Once again, Affleck has assembled a strong ensemble consisting of the already mentioned Arkin, as well as Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Kyle Chandler, Scoot McNairy (Monsters), Chris Messina, Taylor Schilling (The Lucky One), and many more.
Watch the trailer below and see if Warner Bros. has a potential Oscar candidate on its hands. Argo arrives in theaters on October 12, 2012.
