Based on actual events that occurred in 1979 in Tehran, the movie brilliantly blends a gripping espionage thriller with humor that comes from the Hollywood shenanigans that Affleck (playing real-life CIA agent Tony Mendez) had to go through with John Goodman (playing real-life Hollywood effects guru and CIA make-up man John Chambers) and Oscar-nominated Alan Arkin (playing movie producer Lester Siegel).

FORBES: Why Ben Affleck's Argo Should Win The Best Picture Oscar

As the fictional director Lester Siegel, an acidulous has-been who drives a gold Rolls-Royce, Alan Arkin gets some of the best lines it would take too many asterisks to quote the topper, which becomes a running gag and he turns a smallish part into a thriller's antic soul.

WSJ: 'Argo,' on Fake Film, Is Real Sensation | Film Review by Joe Morgenstern