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.