A review of the film “American Made”
This 2017 film reminds me of “Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007) and especially “Air America” (1990) since all three deal with true-life covert American involvement in foreign wars which were so bizarre that the movies in question are a mixture of drama and comedy and, in the cases of both “American Made” and “Air America”, daredevil pilots are at the heart of the action.
This time the central character is Barry Seal, played by Tom Cruise, a former airline pilot who switches to smaller craft to smuggle drugs and guns into various Central American war zones on behalf of agencies representing Uncle Sam. It is only loosely based on Seal’s story with director Doug Limon calling it “a fun lie based on a true story”.
I confess I struggled somewhat with a film which makes such criminal activity look like fun and such nefarious characters as Colombia’s Pablo Escobar and Panama’s Manuel Noriega appear as business associates.
What makes the film appealling is Cruise with his boyish charm and the flying which is exhilerating. Director Doug Liman is himself a pilot and made sure that the aviation language and techniques are true to life, while Cruise does his own stunt flying with aplomb.