ArgoFuckYourself

Ben Affleck is the most solid director of his time (of course, three movies). He's admirably consistent: good casting, good camera work, and good pace. He may be inheriting the Coen Brothers (or a better version of Clint Eastwood) spot of every movie being expected to be solid, award-contending stuff. However, he's not a star. However, you don't expect him to do something brilliant.

What we have here is a pretty wild premise. It's something you would make a B/C-movie of, or a comic book for those publishers I don't like. It's crazy. But it's a true story. I don't really get the appeal of a true story, at least for plot like this. I'm a true alternate universe fan so I'm perfectly okay with stuff that doesn't have any basis. If anything, it's sort of selling yourself cheap by putting in a clause that shields you from people saying the premise is dumb. Again, the metric is whether the story is good or not, independent of everything.

The basics is that the people of Tehran were really worked-up about America giving asylum to a former dicator who ruled the place and oppressed the place and whose wife bathed in milk as the people starved, all for many years. This did not happen with Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines. So the people storm the embassy, and I have to mention that this was really incredible camera work that raised my expectations so high, hold the people their hostage and film themselves saying cryptic stuff. But some Americans escape and no one ever tells the government that they've noticed white people looking lost and looking for a place to stay. The people of Tehran (generally) don't care about the leftist groups, I guess.

Moisture on Top

It looked really nice, I'll give it that. The command deck, the buggys, the suits, they all made me want to daydream about space travel. The production value is at an unbelievable level; nothing looks at all fake or computer-generated (except that opening scene).

That opening scene will be telling of the rest of the two odd hours you'll be spending next. Not exactly in terms of underscored poignancy but instead in noticeable slowness and slight confusion. This scene contains a humanoid being who runs up a cliff and in a sort of solitary ceremony drinks something. Ugly things happen to him quite soon, and he falls down the falls by the cliff and decays in seconds. Maybe this is explained later but I did not get it.

The thing is, it's not exactly bad, that scene, but it's not very good either. Things happen for no reason. It's as if the editor was on strike. We have Idris Elba and Charlize Theron suddenly flirting. We have Idris Elba sort of making a half speech to a Noomi Rapace who is dressing. We have a Noomi Rapace who is just back from surgery (a ceasarian by all accounts), and hobbles away, and runs away from the frackas without much problem only a little while later.

Markings

This had a perfect first issue, leading me to exclaim it was one of the hot new books of 2012. It had really good imagery and made me really interested in the story. Who are these Native Americans. Who is that black-clad German. Tell me more about this small vigilante operation (I absolutely love small vigilante operations). All this in a mild-pulp atmosphere, getting the nice darker tone but without the overwhelming monologues and ugly themes. Really really good. Read it again and you see that small guy in all-white behind the yellow line.

Good stuff followed and the story expanded to this ganster guy, this freelance couple with powers, this plotting guy in all-white, the annoying reporter girl who's testy and cocky and rebellious.