American Made is a 2017 action/biographical film directed by Doug Liman. The film stars Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Alejandro Edda, Mauricio Mejía, Caleb Landry Jones and Jesse Plemons, and follows the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA and became a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s, and in order to avoid jail time, became an informant for the DEA. The film is loosely based on true events.
So here’s a rather odd review for you all. I had zero intentions to both view or review this film until earlier this week, and to my surprise it was pretty well worth the watch. After seeing some of the trailers and marketing for this film, I was exactly turned on to this movie, but it wasn’t until after a friend asked me if I wanted to see it that I decided to change my mind and take a look at American Made.
So usually I start things off by expressing my thoughts on the characters and acting, but what really blew me away throughout the film was the constant “Oh wow,” moments. Although this film is based on a true story, it finds itself being a very loose adaptation, yet never takes itself too seriously. The story was incredibly lighthearted, and felt like it continually flowed really well (for the most part). I’ll explain a little later some things I din’t enjoy about the film, but for the most part the story felt very original. Again, this is one of those films that left me with more questions about what actually happened in real life, and I really enjoy those types of films.
Now onto the acting. It’s Tom Cruise, what more do you want? Cruise always does such a fantastic job in all of his roles, the only thing I have an issue with is that he’s in so much now that I never really feel like I can invest in his character. Although his acting was great, I don’t feel like he played an accurate version of his character, but in reality I don’t know what Berry Seal was actually like, so I can’t make that assumption. All of the remaining cast just felt like they were just there doing their job, and even Domhnall Gleeson nor Sarah Wright felt genuine in their roles. To be honest the cast was just mediocre besides Cruise himself.
Now although the true nature of this story is the film’s main selling point, there were some issues with it as well. The pacing in this film felt a little strange at times as some things came and went without context, and a lot of plot points were left unanswered, leaving me guessing as to what might have happened, or trying to figure out what happened on my own. The film constantly had me questioning what was actually true, and what was made up, and it really made me question the value of the “Based on true events,” tag that it displays. The film also does a lot of narration thus breaking the fourth wall, and although I understand why they went the Forrest Gump route, it just felt a little lazy when it came to exposition. Don’t use narration!
Another mixed bag for me was the film’s editing and cinematography. Let me just say that visuals in this film are to die for. They used real planes, Cruise really flew these planes, and my god it made this film feel like a documentary at times. What I didn’t like so much was the millions of cuts that the film pulls throughout the entire first act. During all of the crazy exposition in the beginning it just flashes through scenes like a slideshow. Although some might defend it as being “realistic”, I’d say it made the film feel a lot choppier in the beginning and affected the film’s pacing in the long run.
With all that being said, the film American Made had some truly great moments to it. The film’s story is unique and one worth telling, and both the visuals and Cruise make this a film worth watching. Yet, even with all that praise, the film still suffers from choppy cuts and odd pacing, and doesn’t really feature the most amazing of casts. In the end I decided to give American Made a “Good” on theVade Review Bar. It’s one of those films you’ll be glad to see unexpectedly, but not one that will continually go back to.
