Movie Review Rewind: American Made (2017)

Brandon Vick flips the calendar back to 2017 for a look at Tom Cruise in American Made on this edition of Movie Review Rewind!

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Tom Cruise is back in the cockpit with his best performance in years in American Made, a let-loose, entertaining film that’s almost too good to be true. As Barry Seal, Cruise isn’t pulled back in to the repetitive formula we expect from him—Jack Reacher and Ethan Hunt have been benched for now. Cruise carries the cockiness and grin no matter where he goes, yet seeing him portray a guy that can’t quite grasp what he has is invigorating. Barry doesn’t see the big picture and is just rockin’ and rollin’ until the ride has come to a complete stop. American Made is absolutely worth getting on, and be sure to embrace and enjoy every flippant moment.

Barry is bored at his TWA job. He’s a pilot seeking adventure and this ain’t cutting it. Then he meets Monty Schafer (a sneaky scene-stealing Domhnall Gleeson ), a CIA agent that wants him to take pictures of the Commie threat in Central America. Sounds innocent enough right? What begins with some photos winds up putting Barry right in the middle of the biggest covert CIA operation in the history of the United States. He can be found dropping off drugs for the Medellin cartel, delivering AK-47’s in Nicaragua for the government, and dabbling in the Iran Contra scandal for the White House that almost takes down Ronald Reagan’s presidency.

It’s not illegal if it’s for the good guys—at least that’s what they say. Good luck finding one of those in this movie. All involved are dressed from head-to-toe in licentiousness, especially our guy Barry. At the same time, that’s what makes him so fascinating and fun to watch. He’s a selfish bastard but loves his family, wanting to provide for them in every way possible. He sure as hell succeeds at it by flying in to places no one wants to know about while receiving bags of the dirtiest money from people you don’t ever want to meet. I suppose having millions buried in the backyard would make him more manageable to live with and forgive.

Even having it all take place in the late 70’s and early 80’s, director Doug Liman knows how to make his movie star look good. He directed Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow (or Live. Die. Repeat) and is a magician at turning his invincibility that we see time and time again in to vulnerability. Liman uses a tricky but arresting approach with American Made by shifting from Seal’s numerous jobs without the story stalling, and hooking humor up to the wings of this dangerous and corrupt flight and watching it soar. My advice would be to buckle up.

The details have been spared because the whole damn thing is nuts, but never stops being a blast. Referred to in the movie as “the gringo that always delivers”, they couldn’t be more right when it comes to Cruise. There’s no denying American Made was made for him. Shaking off the all-American action hero and getting wildly more cynical and undisciplined is a brash, rejuvenating look for Cruise. You’ll like what you see.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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