Review of American Made (2017) by Jacob M — 25 Sep 2017

American Made - Review (2017).

The Good.

Tom Cruise Fantastic Performance after his wasted horrible performance in Jack Reacher 2 and The Mummy. Its great to not just see him in a Action Film he reminds us that he can give a Great Performance.

The Fascinatingly, but Ridiculous Story.

Doug Liman's Assured Direction.

The Slick, Fast-Paced Editing.

Domhnall Gleeson's Terrific Supporting Turn.

The Stunning Aerial Cinematography.

It's Genuinely Suspenseful.

The Bad.

Tom Cruise Looks Nothing Like Barry Seal - The real-life Seal was overweight and decidedly less handsome than Cruise, yet little-to-no attempt has been made to "ugly-up" the legendary movie star, which some might see as an act of vanity on Cruise's part.

The Incredibly Conventional Plot Structure.

Sarah Wright's Underwhelming Female Lead - While this is Barry Seal's story, his long-suffering wife Lucy (Sarah Wright) is an incredibly important part of it, considering that she's essentially along for the ride and serves as Barry's primary motivation throughout.

However, Lucy is disappointingly underwritten throughout and never really graduates beyond being the trophy wife who vacillates between supremely outraged at her husband's acts and grinning like the Cheshire Cat when one of his schemes pays off. She does try though just doesn't help.

Overall: Its great to see a Good Tom Cruise Movie again since 2015's Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation, this is a fun movie.

Overall Grade: B+.