Review of Argo

Argo (2004)
If Guy Ritchie would be a Hungarian
4 October 2004
than he most probably would be make this film the in a similar way :-) This one is more likely the low budget, east European version of the Lock, Stock... or the Snatch movies. Especially the character intros, the fading-to-stylized headshots with big block letters. I found this resemblance pretty annoying in an otherwise more or less original film. You might find some more interesting "flashbacks" from the opening battle from the Gladiator, and the shoot-outs from the Desperado. I hope, next time Mr Árpa will re-invent instead of re-use the great moments from other great movies. Two more weak points in the film, the storyline has some unnecessary curves, and one of the lead actors (the Milkman) simply falls out from the rest of the cast due to his inability to present his role properly. Really shameful.

Now let see the good points. The greatest asset the filmmakers have is the cast. Apart from Mr Oszter, everyone of them are just perfect. They do not seem to be actors, however at least some of them are, but real, everyday-life guys. The curvy plot has several hilarious gags, frantic losers fighting for victories, in a typical East-European way.

The low budget only moderately visible, it seems, that the crew used the resources in a very effective way. This film cannot be swapped with a Hollywood action movie, however successfully turns the weakness (small amount of money) into style: lots of close-ups, cheap but interesting locations etc.

In summary: I recommend this movie to anyone, who are not annoyed by strong language and lots of artificial blood marks, and wants some treasure chasing gangster-fun:-).

I just wonder how this film will perform in a non-Hungarian speaking world :-)
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