American Made

9/29/20171h 55m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ It's not a felony if you're doing it for the good guys. ~

Overview:

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

Director:

Doug Liman

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$50,000,000.00

Revenue:

$133,511,855.00

Key words:

central intelligence agency (cia)
drug smuggling
money laundering
pilot
based on true story
drug cartel
illegal drugs
dea agent
1980s
pablo escobar

Cast

Tom Cruise

~ as ~

Barry Seal

Domhnall Gleeson

~ as ~

Monty 'Schafer'

Sarah Wright

~ as ~

Lucy Seal

Jesse Plemons

~ as ~

Sheriff Downing

Caleb Landry Jones

~ as ~

Lola Kirke

~ as ~

Judy Downing

Jayma Mays

~ as ~

Dana Sibota

Alejandro Edda

~ as ~

Jorge Ochoa

Benito Martinez

~ as ~

James Rangel

E. Roger Mitchell

~ as ~

Agent Craig McCall

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

f
fung0
Written 7 year(s) ago
9
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.
GenerationofSwine
Written 2 year(s) ago
10
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.