Affleck continues to impress audiences with his keen eye for direction, knowing just when to fall back and allow this top-notch cast the freedom to interpret the events in a way that will most compel viewers.

Affleck is still building up his chops as a director, but the intelligence and ambition he brings to filmmaking are particularly apparent in Argo.

The old saw "truth is stranger than fiction" has had its teeth properly sharpened in the superb thriller Argo, a blend of political history and Hollywood hijinks that goes right for the jugular.

Mendez orchestrates the audacious plan to hoodwink Iranian authorities by posing as a film crew, ingeniously paving the way for the American diplomats to secure safe passage out of the country.