Argo (2012)

I'll put this out there right now. I'm no fan of Ben Affleck. I just never felt he was a good actor but I didn't let that keep me from seeing this movie everybody was talking about.

And yes, let me also put this right out there, the movie is loosely based on the "Canadian Caper" in which 6 American diplomats were safely hidden away in the Ambassador's home and then using faked Canadian passports were flown out of Tehran. I say loosely based because as everybody knows it was 90% Canada's involvement that these 6 people got out. It was Ambassador Ken Taylor who came up with the idea, the Canadian government that allowed these 6 to be issued passports and they were then returned home.

But that's not what this movie shows. No. It shows that Tony Mendez, played by Ben Affleck, was not only the mastermind of this but downplayed just about anything the Canadians did. Of course after a very Canadian, a.k.a. polite, dressing down by Ken Taylor Ben has since said that the Canadians did help much more than they did.

Having said that this is a good movie. There's some A-list actors in it. There's some great cinematography which shows that maybe Ben's skill lies behind the camera. There's some action scenes because you need action scenes today and there's a feeling of triumph when they finally get airborne and are off to freedom.

But that doesn't take away from the fact they played really fast and loose with the truth. It's like in U-571. It was the British that captured the Enigma machine but we need Americans to do it for an American audience because they don't like it when others are the heroes. And that's possibly the biggest flaw with this movie. Americans need to learn that they're not the greatest on the face of the planet and that other people have helped them along the way.

So thank you Canada for what you've done for us. I just wish this movie could have shown you in a better light.