Argo 2012

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: Argo is just so-so. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: "'Argo' is quite a satisfactory impossible mission indeed." Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: In the end, this is a story about outwitting rather than killing the enemy, making it a homage to actual intelligence and an example of the same. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: A marvel of cunning, an irresistible blend of cool realism and Hollywood hokum. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Argo is a triumph. It has tension, sincerity, mystery, artistic responsibility, entertainment value, technical expertise, a narrative arc and a thrilling respect for the tradition of how to tell a story with minimum frills and maximum impact. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: "Argo" exults in what a movie can do when its story has a compelling core. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: 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. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: "Argo" is both an inspiring tale of risk and heroism, and a crackling piece of entertainment. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: The film glides skillfully from the perilous front lines of international espionage to the lower reaches of show business and back again, quietly drawing parallels between worlds in which appearances are everything. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It re-creates the mood of an era, a nation's frustration and anger, all while rollicking along with a crackling adventure. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: [Affleck's] ambition for the thriller has gone international, it's gone important, but, crucially, not self-important. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Fact-based but politically cautious. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The propulsive hostage thriller "Argo," the third feature directed by Ben Affleck, just plain works. Read more

Tom Charity, CNN.com: Affleck himself turns in a quietly impressive movie star performance. Tony Mendez is a kind of anti-Bourne, comfortable with his anonymity, living off his wits, not his fists. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: 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. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A tone-perfect hybrid of insider show-biz spoof and tense spy thriller. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: 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. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It may not have a lot beyond its outrageous story, but the story is undeniably a doozy, and the movie is a blast. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Argo is never less than wildly entertaining, but a major part of its power is that it so ominously captures the kickoff to the world we're in now. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Kudos to Ben Affleck, actor and director, for delivering a vital and thrilling political actioner. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: Argo is a crackerjack political thriller told with intelligence, great period detail and a surprising amount of nutty humor for a serious look at the Iran hostage crisis of 1979-81. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Affleck easily orchestrates this complex film with 120 speaking parts as it moves from inside-the-Beltway espionage thriller to inside Hollywood dark comedy to gripping international hostage drama, all without missing a step. Read more

Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News: Affleck captures not just the way we looked and acted during this era, but vividly brings history to life. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The movie is accomplished enough to stand alongside the 1970s political thrillers that inspired it, right down to the vintage red-and-black Warner Bros. logo that opens the film. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: Entertaining and suspenseful in old-fashioned ways. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: It's a well-told story that's timely, topical and thoroughly entertaining. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Clever, taut, and restrained. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: 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. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: The script is snappy, but the real accomplishment here is how Affleck, who both stars in and directs Argo, manages to segue from Ocean's 11-style repartee to pulse-pounding tension and back again. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: An entertaining, real-life, race-the-clock thriller that nabs you at the start and never makes a wrong move. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: If you didn't know otherwise, you'd swear this was the work of a veteran master like Steven Soderbergh. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: It's high-class Hollywood, not the low-rent and exploitative route that the make-believe movie at the heart of this tale would have taken. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: A lot of movies take us back to the late '70s/early '80s, but few have done it so forcefully and with so little application of kitsch. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: 'Argo' is one of the best movies of the year. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Both spellbinding and surprisingly funny. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: 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. There's no doubt he's crafted one of the best movies of the year. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: With America's tormented relationship with Iran back on the global front burner, "Argo" is also a crafty, reflective mood piece that will leave you thinking about the resounding echoes of that tormented and not-so-distant era. Read more

Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: Even though most people know the outcome, this movie still will have you on the edge of your seat. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: 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. Read more

Robert Philpot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com: With Affleck's continued growth as a director, it makes you want to see what he will deliver next. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: An impressive mix of serious suspense filmmaking and ironic, mood-lightening humor. And it has the added distinction of being mostly true, based on a declassified CIA operation. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Before he was a Middle Eastern studies major, Ben Affleck dreamed of directing a movie that mattered. "Argo" is his dream come true. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Argo is a movie of many parts, the sum of which can probably be best described as enjoyable Hollywood hokum. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The film is a whopper of a tale, one designed for Oscar nominations, Best Picture and Best Director among them. Read more

Leah Rozen, TheWrap: Let's just say that the movie's final section is so nail-bitingly tense, thanks to a skillful combination of acting, writing and crosscutting, that it puts Affleck in the big leagues as a director. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: For 100 minutes, 'Argo' is close to flawless. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Out in the audience, you never shake the feeling-partly intentional-that Argo itself is swaddled in a kind of phony ersatzness. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Fusing suspense and humor in a political thriller is a tricky prospect, but Argo is more than up to the task. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: White-knuckle tense and less self-congratulatory than it sounds, Ben Affleck's unexpectedly comedic third feature has the vital elements to delight adult auds. Read more

Karina Longworth, Village Voice: It's an embodiment of the kind of quality adult film that really shouldn't be an endangered species, and a love letter from Affleck to the industry that made him, shunned him, and loves nothing more than to be loved. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's serious and substantive, an ingeniously written and executed drama fashioned from a fascinating, little-known chapter of recent history. Read more