Review of American Made (2017) by Tammy R — 30 Sep 2017

The one thing I always ask of biopics is entertainment. You don't have to make a completely faithful adaption of true events, we have Wikipedia for that. All I ask is for a film to provide entertainment while maintaining the spirit of the true events. I'm not entirely sure how close American Made stayed to the life of Barry Seal, but it's damn well one of the most entertaining films of the year. With a refreshingly great performance from Tom Cruise and a pace that rivals the best of Scorsese's based-on-true-story films, American Made is another gem collaboration from star Cruise and director Doug Liman.

American Made centers around the life of Barry Seal, a pilot who gets hired by the CIA to ship weapons to Central America and also gets caught up with drug cartels during his trips. The best way to describe this film is wild. But I think what I appreciated the most about it was it never felt like Liman was glorifying this irreverent lifestyle. Unlike say, Wolf of Wall Street, American Made never explicitly shows drug use, overtly sexualized scenes, or extreme violence. Instead, you get the full effect by just watching Seal go through ridiculous experience after ridiculous experience, and the smile never leaves Cruise's face.

You can tell Cruise is having a blast making this, and his performance certainly echoes that. I mean, it doesn't hurt that I still had the taste of that Mummy movie before watching American Made. Luckily, Cruise is surrounded by a talented cast who follow along with the energetic tone Liman brings. And the energy this movie brings is second to none this year. I absolutely loved the way Liman told this story, never allowing the political side of this story to get in the way of a fast-paced drama.

This isn't Goodfellas, Casino, or even Wolf of Wall Street, but American Made is a fascinating story that needed to be told and I'm glad Liman and Cruise were the ones who got the chance to tell it. Perfectly paced and infectiously performed, American Made is one of the best films of the year.

8.8/10.