American Made (2017) {Movie Review}


Dir: Doug Liman
Starring: Tom Cruise
Dur: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Biographical drama
Rating: 7/10

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) was an ordinary pilot. Ordinary in as much as he was just another pilot but he was also extraordinarily good at flying. His flying career took a sudden turn when one fine day he was approached by the CIA to do some covert operations for them in Central and South America. Slowly he got into the drug business with the local drug lords, Pablo Escobar and company, and soon his life changed forever. He was making more money than he could ever imagine but his private life was disrupted. Things escalated from then on and he began to work for multiple interest groups including the White House in his –  I don’t know if I could call it –  ‘illustrious’ career. But things don’t always end well, especially in life, and since this was a biography, it couldn’t find any other way out than the truth – his untimely death at the hands of assassins.
 
The film is great: well-scripted, tight drama and rapid scenes. The actors are impeccable. Tom is at his usual best. At times, you wonder if he will ever get into Mission Impossible mode and whip the bad guys. But he doesn’t do that. Besides the obvious reason that this is a biopic, one possible reason could be because it is so hard to tell who’s good and who’s bad. The plot is a bit convoluted but that is to be expected in a spy thriller. Barry lived on the knife’s edge and died of bullet wounds but he dared to do things very few others would. I don’t endorse his way of life but I admire his wit and courage. While watching the film I was reminded of the Gospel quote: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?” (Mt ) Barry had gained the world in a certain sense but he could never enjoy it with his family. He left a young, pretty woman a widow and beautiful children orphans. He made enough to live like a king but died a pauper and left his family a fraction of what he had made. You’ll have to see the film to grasp what I am saying. But don’t miss it. It’s fun. It’s cool. And it might give you an adrenaline rush.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Grand Masti 2 (2016) (Movie Review)

Image
Dir: Indra Kumar Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Urvashi Rautela Dur: 2 hrs 10 mins Genre: Comedy Rating: 1/10 Comment: The jokes, gestures and costumes are sexually suggestive. An absolute waste of time. “What an opening line”, you might think. But to say otherwise would be an absolute lie. This film is in fact, a great grand waste of time. It’s horrible whichever way you look at it. The story is weak and thrives on cheap thrills and sorry jokes. The actresses are no doubt eye-catching but the rest is all a blur. The comedy is in fact tragedy and the film attempts to play on the basest desires of man. It’s unbelievable that actors like Riteish and Vivek would do such a film. I am not a big fan of bollywood but I still feel bad when I see bollywood making films like these. All of a sudden, I see that sex is being propagated through Indian cinema. The views of sex are changing and filmmakers and actors are not hesitating to take on unconvent
Read more

The Challenge of Mercy

Image
Pope Francis has declared this as the year of mercy, and up until now plenty of reflections have been preached and published on mercy. Perhaps each of us too have made our own reflection on the theme of mercy. Since the inauguration of the year, my mind has often reverted to this theme. Every night when I make an examination of conscience, I evaluate myself: my thoughts, words and deeds vis-à-vis mercy. I realize that I am not merciful most of the time and that I resort to do what benefits me over the merciful thing. Pope Francis realized that the Church needed to revisit the theme of mercy; to reflect upon it and put it into practice. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is the personified revelator of the Father’s mercy. Through his words and deeds he suffused the scent of mercy. His teachings on mercy are appreciated and continue to inspire people even today. The Church itself was founded on mercy: Christ became the expiation for our sins (1 Jn 4:10; Heb 2:17). He for
Read more

Andadhun (2018) [Movie Review]

Image
Dir: Sriram Raghavan Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and Tabu Dur: 2 hrs 18 mins Genre: Black Comedy Crime Thriller Rating: 3/10 I watched this film on good recommendations. It was hailed as one of the best films of 2018. The mystery surrounding the film went well with the mystery that was actually the film itself. I learnt a hard lesson after watching this film and that is not to go by what other’s say about a film. Given Bollywood’s film making standards, I should not have been surprised. Yet, I found myself pleasantly surprised at the end product. Andadhun tells a complex tale of blindness in a world that is not blind even though it appears so. Confused? Well then, watching the film is not going to make it any better. This film is a classical example of postmodern film-making. It is replete with ample plot twists that don’t allow you to settle into its tricky narrative. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new twist emerges and challe
Read more