If you only see one movie this last part of the year it better be Argo. Argo is directed by Ben Affleck and may be the director’s best work yet, and that is saying something being this is the mastermind behind “Gone Baby Gone” and “The Town”. Argo will without a doubt be up for many Oscars, including best movie of the year.

Ben Affleck and Bryan Cranston together?! My heart exploded.

The true story that Argo is based on is that during the 1979 revolution in Iran, a group of US embassy workers take refuge with the Canadian ambassador. CIA agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) fabricates a plan to rescue them by pretending they are a Canadian film crew shooting a science fiction movie (Argo) in the Middle East.

1979 is before my time so I honestly didn’t know anything about this story or the events that lead up to it. Instead of spending precious time explaining the history of the event, Affleck brings the audience up to speed using a comic-like method of storytelling. It’s a quick entertaining way to bring the audience up.

So what makes this movie a likely contestant for movie of the year? The story, the acting, the cast, the drama, the comedy, the scenes, everything about this movie screams excellence.

At its core, Argo is a heist movie where the object of desire is a group of American’s hiding from the Iranian government. Scattered around in this story is a lot of comedy. Most of the comedy comes from Affleck’s character interacting with the Hollywood characters and trying to get his fake movie plan off the ground. When you aren’t laughing you’ll likely be clenching your armrest during a suspenseful scene.

Argo is “based” on a true story. Affleck admits to adding some scenes to add to the drama, and I didn’t mind. Every scene added something vital to the movie experience. The last act of the movie you’ll feel a pain in your stomach as you watch Affleck try to get these character’s home and you don’t know if he is going to succeed or not.

While watching the movie you see some things and think there is no way this is real, this must have been added to the movie for effect. You’d be wrong. Stick around during the credits and screen clips from the movie are compared next to the real photographs that they were modeled after. The same is done with the actors and the real humans they were playing. This is small 5 minute part of the credits, but it really drives home that this really happened.

I can’t speak highly enough of this movie. If The Dark Knight was the only action movie you saw this year, than Argo should be the only drama you see. See filmmaking at its best and go watch Argo, if not then Argo fu….