Here it is. The big one. Every website lists this movie as a BIG contender. I want to start off my review with a reminder that I am only fifteen years old, and therefore didn’t get a few of the adult jokes that fill this movie. But before you can say Alan Arkin’s catchphrase (you know what it is), I want to tell you that my age didn’t take too much out of this year’s Social Network.

It starts out with a bunch of hostages in Iran and we spend the rest of the movie trying to get them out. Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) gets an idea – say that the hostages are a film crew trying to make a sci-fi. He rounds up two professionals played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman. And the rest of the movie flips back and forth between interesting suspense and boring dialogue.

But, to be fair, the majority of the movie is interesting enough, and when it wants to be good, it’s really good. The highlight of the movie would have to be the editing, which creates really suspenseful moments, especially during the climax. I also have to give credit to Ben Affleck, because acting and directing simultaneously is not an easy thing to do, and he does both very well. There isn’t a lot of music, which actually helps to enhance the mood. The music that does show up is very good, though.

Now, maybe this is just the nitpicking mind of a kid in high school, but I thought that the movie didn’t follow through on everything that it was trying to do. Alan Arkin and John Goodman are both very funny, but they didn’t get the screen time that I thought they deserved. The whole ‘fake movie’ concept was what I found to be the most interesting, and that wasn’t focused on as much as you might think.

But as it goes on, the movie makes you care more about Mendez and the hostages, and the two hours go by in the blink of an eye thanks to the masterful editing. Maybe when I’m an adult, I may agree with the critics. But I don’t think this is the best film of the year. Pretty darn close, though.

****1/2