'

Argo

Play trailer

2:25

Argo

R

Released Oct 12, 2012

2h 0m

History

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

360 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 American hostages. Amid the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian ambassador. Knowing that it's just a matter of time before the refugees are found and likely executed, the U.S. government calls on extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them. Mendez's plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer scouting locations in Iran and train the refugees to act as his "film" crew.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Tense, exciting, and often darkly comic, Argo recreates a historical event with vivid attention to detail and finely wrought characters.

Read Critics Reviews

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Affleck continues to impress audiences with his keen eye for direction, knowing just when to fall back and allow this top-notch cast the freedom to interpret the events in a way that will most compel viewers.

Rated: A

Sep 7, 2017

Full Review

Jonathan Robbins

Film Comment Magazine

Affleck is still building up his chops as a director, but the intelligence and ambition he brings to filmmaking are particularly apparent in Argo.

Jan 13, 2015

Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

The old saw "truth is stranger than fiction" has had its teeth properly sharpened in the superb thriller Argo, a blend of political history and Hollywood hijinks that goes right for the jugular.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 13, 2015

Full Review

Anushka Halve

Film Companion

Mendez orchestrates the audacious plan to hoodwink Iranian authorities by posing as a film crew, ingeniously paving the way for the American diplomats to secure safe passage out of the country.

Dec 12, 2023

Full Review

Mark Johnson

Awards Daily

Lines of historic moments are blurred in Ben Affleck’s dramatization of the rescue of diplomats during the Tehran hostage crisis of 1979. But who’s complaining? (Argo) is an extremely rewatchable movie.

Jun 27, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Affleck has not only reminded us that his best performances come when he’s in control, but that he’s also a considerable force behind the camera.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 23, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Faiz D

Argo is great. Great acting, cinematography, and best of all, a great story takes Argo into the realm of one of the best films to come along in some time. Affleck proves once again of his talent as a director. I'd definitely recommend seeing this, you won't be disappointed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

Full Review

BO S

Anyone who suggests Canada should become our 51st state is a moron. If that had been the case during the hostage crisis, the 6 Americans portrayed in Argo would have been executed as spies, along with Tony Mendez, the Canadian ambassador and his wife. Every American shouoldl see this movie to appreciate how fortunate we are to have Canada as a neighbor. Argo captures the true horror faced by these brave people.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/07/25

Full Review

Fabrícia F

Tenso, comovente, revigorante. Um suspense vívido que recria a história real dos reféns que escaparam dos conflitos no Irã à maneira mais cinematográfica e inacreditável que se podia imaginar. Valeu a pena torcer por Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) na pele do herói sem capa da CIA.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/25

Full Review

Esmeralda S

One of the best movies of all times! Ben Affleck is probably a bad husband, but a Genius director! The historical fact is interesting, the screenplay is great! Rythm, suspence, emotions: I wish he could do a new movie of the same level

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/25

Full Review

Daniel N

Brilliant. Amazing. Fantastic. 10 out of 10. Me of the greatest movies ever made. The drama is intense and the character development and storytelling is brilliant. Great cast, great story, great writing, great direction. Absolutely flawless. Easily Ben Afflecks best performance as both an actor and director. Sensational movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/30/25

Full Review

Kyle C

Perfectly balancing tension with wackiness, this stranger-than-fiction (mostly) true story is expertly planned and executed. You don’t need to know much historical context at all to follow the story, which I very much appreciated. Ben Affleck is great as the star, but he also does a great job directing, drawing some really nice parallels and effectively building suspense. Though some of the details of the story have been embellished for the sake of the film, the spirit of the truth is fully captured and explored. There are a lot of characters but each feels real and fleshed with a lovely attention to detail.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Ben Affleck

Director

Ben Affleck

Tony Mendez

Bryan Cranston

Jack O'Donnell

Alan Arkin

Lester Siegel

John Goodman

John Chambers

Victor Garber

Ken Taylor

Snowden

61%

70%

Snowden

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Snowden

12 Years a Slave

95%

90%

12 Years a Slave

Watchlist

TRAILER

for 12 Years a Slave

The Railway Man

67%

68%

The Railway Man

Watchlist

The Catcher Was a Spy

32%

52%

The Catcher Was a Spy

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Catcher Was a Spy

J. Edgar

44%

44%

J. Edgar

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Argo: Trailer 1

2:25

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

On Nov. 4, 1979, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 American hostages. Amid the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge with the Canadian ambassador. Knowing that it's just a matter of time before the refugees are found and likely executed, the U.S. government calls on extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to rescue them. Mendez's plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer scouting locations in Iran and train the refugees to act as his "film" crew.

Director: Ben Affleck
Producer: Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
Screenwriter: Chris Terrio
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Smokehouse Pictures, Warner Bros., GK Films, Smoke House
Rating: R (Some Violent Images|Language)
Genre: History, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 12, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 3, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $136.0M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, Datasat

Most Popular at Home Now