Tom Cruise
Barry Seal
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The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.
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| Homepage | http://www.americanmademovie.net/ |
|---|---|
| Release Date | 2017-08-18 |
| Runtime | 1h 55m |
| Directors | Doug Liman, César Charlone, Kevin Scott, Elizabeth Cummings, Dylan Goss |
| Producers | Brian Oliver, Doug Davison, Ray Angelic, Tyler Thompson, Eric J. Robertson, Sarah McMurdo, Gayle Busby, Brian Grazer, Kim Roth, Terry Dougas, James H. Pang, Jean-Luc De Fanti, Christopher Woodrow, Brandt Andersen, Marcos Tellechea, Eric Greenfeld, Lauren Selig, Johnny Lin, Ryan Ahrens, Andrés Calderón, Ray Chen, Beely Lee, Michael Finley, Gary Spinelli, Allen Liu, Paris Kasidokostas Latsis, Michael Plank, Daniel Lanmi, Philip Moross, Leo Shi Young, Joshua Skurla, Jill Ahrens, Alison Winter, Michael Bassick |
| Writer | Gary Spinelli |
American Made is a peculiar film, but a very enjoyable one. It takes a playful, satirical look at the origins of the notorious 'Iran-Contra' affair, through the eyes of pilot Barry Seal. Along the ways we get thrills, laughs, astonishing (true-life) twists and turns and some vivid characters.
Even if you followed the public Iran-Contra scandal, you may be unfamiliar with the story of Seal, who started running guns for the CIA years before the familiar public scandal erupted. American Made is a fast, breezy, amoral look at the ins and outs of a covert operation made to go wrong. There's no judgment here; in fact, we come to like Seal's crazy make-it-up-as-you-go-along approach to flying, to crime and to life in general.
Tom Cruise is perfectly cast as the cocky, reckless pilot. I've done a fair bit of flying, and I've met one or two hot-shots like (in a lesser degree) the one Cruise portrays. Cruise has lately been playing parts that are much too young for him (e.g. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back), but his age works well in this case. In a way, Seal is a guy fighting to stay young.
If there's one there's one thing to regret about American Made it's that it carefully avoids most of the political backdrop. We're told that the Sandinistas were evil Russian-backed Communists, which is undoubtedly what the CIA would have said at the time. (Hindsight is more ambiguous.) We're shown, just barely, how the Reagan administration evolved a cockeyed criminal scheme for its own ends, but the film ends where the public Iran-Contra scandal began. Ollie North is a presence in only one or two shots.
Nonetheless, Barry Seal's personal story arc is wrapped up perfectly. The ending doesn't let anyone off the hook, but it does leave us questioning our own moral position, as we're inevitably drawn to like and admire Barry Seal, in spite of his total lack of scruples or judgment.
Doug Liman directs with his usual flair. He's had a remarkably varied career, ranging from spy-action (Bourne Identity) to superheroes (Jumper) to political drama (Fair Game) to straight-up sci-fi (Edge of Tomorrow). American Made stands up very well in that catalog. It's a fun film, a thoughtful film, an unusual film... though its darker side may not appeal to every taste.
— fung0
It's always kind of fun seeing Tom Cruise in a role where he has to actually act and not just do the action phone-in-emotion thing...because he is capable of being a decent actor and not just a pretty-boy action star.
And, in this he was a decent actor.
And the result is a very enjoyable and fun period piece that has just as much drama as it does action and comedy, which allows the time dedication to slip buy unnoticed.
It's actually pretty rare that you can watch a film this long and not really feel like you're watching a long film.
The only real downside is that the end hits you a bit abruptly, a bit too abruptly for the build up...but who cares when the build-up is this enjoyable.
— GenerationofSwine