Argo (2012)

Argo’s last act stacks up so many last-second saves that you can almost hear the screenplay cracking its knuckles. A phone answered on the final ring, a checkpoint that takes one beat too long. It’s movie magic, and in a film that’s literally about movie magic, maybe that’s the point. Everything before it is tight and smart. Ben Affleck plays Tony Mendez low and steady, the six hiding in the ambassador’s house feel genuinely trapped, and the scouting trip through the bazaar is pure tension. John Goodman and Alan Arkin play the Hollywood guys building a fake sci-fi production, and they roast their own industry so well you’d watch a spinoff. It scored 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore. It made $232.3 million worldwide on a reported $44.5M. An 8.4 because it’s a thriller with a sense of humor about itself, and the only thing it overdoes is the ending. $71 says you pitch a fake movie title to a friend this week and they ask when it comes out.

What works: Ben Affleck’s steady direction, the trapped six, and John Goodman and Alan Arkin roasting Hollywood.

What doesn’t: The last act stacks up so many last-second saves that it starts to feel like a magic trick.

Who it’s for: Thriller fans who like their tension smart and their comic relief sitting in director’s chairs.