138.
American Made
8/10
Another Tom Cruise film, just about when I've recovered from The Mummy. This time it's a little different though. This time it's based on real life events of a pilot named Barry Seal. Surely, this meant that Cruise couldn't stick his nose in regarding changing too many things because the story, would make this film, what it is. It's going to really make me read into more about the Iran-Contra affair and the aftermath of these events. I think Odeon had to cut this from the Screen Unseen a while back, but now it's got take off, so let's see what it's all about.
This movie is based in the 1970's and our time frame is set as the Universal symbol changes on the intro, to the one that would have been used at the time. Starting with the storyline, we are following this normal, commercial pilot, on his daily duties. This cuts to Seal, Cruise character, filming himself on a hand-held camera, looking flushed and erratic. He is telling the camera how stupid he has been over the past few years. In the cockpit, he is clearly smuggling cigars for people, as who would check the pilots? This quickly escalates, as he is approached by a CIA agent, who wants him to take pictures in a brand-new plane, whilst flying over South America. His job quickly turns to being a courier to a General that America wants information from on the rulers in Panama at the time. All of this story is carried through with clever animation, showing the trade routes, maps and moments of need to know information. This comes to a new load, when the Colombian drug dealers, the Medellin Cartel, involving Pablo Escobar, wanted him to fly drugs on the way back to the US. With the CIA turning a blind eye to make making an extra buck, the DEA tracks Seal down. He finally tells his wife what his job is, and with the quick camera angles, showing their back and fore, quick dialogue, we are brought into the household. The main guy who gives him his missions, Schafer, warns Seal and sets him up in a new house, along with a massive airstrip, in order to continue with some gun running to the Contras. This is escalating quickly, but the story holds up. It's not missing a trick and very informative, actually enjoyable. We are treated to a montage of their lavish lifestyle now as a family, with the house being expanded, money hidden everywhere they could think of and it just kept on coming. Cruise gives a narrative over scenes like this, to express Seal's emotions and thoughts. After the gun running, the American government want the Contras north of the border, in order to train them properly. Most of them make a break for it and are completely useless though. Again, we see some of the hand-held interviews that Seal gave himself. Finally, the CIA shuts down the job, burns all knowledge of Seal and throws him to the wolves in regards of the FBI, DEA and other law enforcements. He turns into a cocky little shit, knowing that he won't go down for it and low and behold, he's released straight away after making a deal with the White House to prove who the drug dealers are from down south. He makes one last trip and takes the pictures needed but it back fires as the government release them early and put Seal in danger of being killed. Everyone is arrested and Seal, for his part in this, is given community service. As he sits outside the Salvation Army building, a dark figure approaches his car and the screen fades to black with a gun shot. We are back to some of the videos he has made himself and clearly, now we know why he looked so erratic. In his boot of the car he was killed in, the CIA find all of his videos and seize it all in case of being implicated for the smuggling themselves. His wife is back working at the local fast food place, but is still wearing one piece of jewellery that her husband had bought her. The sounds continue after the screen is black, with a crashing plane sound and talking, but nothing more is to be seen.
The cast of this movie is actually irrelevant apart from the lead. We have Cruise, who doesn't suit a guy who kicks ass for 2 hours, but instead is this cocky little weasel, that only wants to get himself ahead. He shows panic, excitement and confidence, all at the right times and was actually good to watch, especially when I wasn't expecting too much from him. You want him to be successful and root for him but is he really the good guy? As for the rest of the cast, they could easily have been changed, as this was all about this one man. The scenes of the planes flying, either alone or in tandem when they arranged a group, was pretty intense. There was hardly any moment in which you could become bored by this as each event was pretty engaging and, at times, hilarious. If you wanted to look for a negative, the film, didn't really show the effects that the drugs have on society, but did it really need to? This movie was about a man who lived, an almost unbelievable life, and what the consequences for him and his family was.
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