Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Argo

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Argo – Opening October 12, 2012

I’m coming at this particular trailer with mixed feelings. In essence, it’s a spy thriller based on a real operation, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way for most of the trailer. There’s plenty of comedy to be found, as this imaginary science fiction film that needs to be shot in Tehran is supposed to be the worst ever conceived of, leading to several jokes about not working in Hollywood. The cast is certainly stacked with talent, including John Goodman, Alan Alda, Bob Gunton, Philip Baker Hall, Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea Duvall, Titus Welliver, and Chris Messina, among others, also in the ensemble, though it’s hard to recognize anyone because of the overbearing mustaches designed to indicate that this is in fact 1979. Making a film about a crisis with Iran feels very timely, even if this harks back over thirty years to a time before the nation posed such a continuous threat. Were this approached with greater seriousness, it could be thought of like “Munich,” but perhaps that’s just what this film has going for it – that it’s offbeat and somewhat comical in tone in the face of immense danger and desperate circumstances. In terms of Ben Affleck’s direction, I loved “Gone Baby Gone” but wasn’t as enthusiastic about “The Town,” and I feel like this could be a real success but could also turn out to be a disappointment. It’s not something I would rush to see, but given the pedigree of the people involved and the subject matter, it may just pick up Oscar buzz.