American Made

I imagine when you hear Tom Cruise’s name or see a trailer for his latest film you have an exact image of what to expect. That could be either good or bad; he’s so successful purely because there’s millions of people that see his presence in a movie as reason alone to see it but, point being, he’s somewhat typecast as the gung-ho action hero.

Recently, however, he’s done well in beginning to branch out beyond his own status quo. Sleeper hit Edge Of Tomorrow (no, it’s not called Live. Die. Repeat) was as good as it’s sci-fi Groundhog Day premise suggested (it’s ruddy excellent) and this year’s Mummy reboot kicks off another shared universe with a few horror and family adventure elements mingled with the action.

American Made though, his latest, is truly the furthest Cruise has ventured off the beaten path for some time and all the better for it.

This is the, quite incredibly true, story of Barry Seal; an airline pilot hired by the CIA undercover for illegal supply runs to Central America and, whilst there, also being employed by Pablo Escobar to make even more illegal supply runs back to the States.

The twists and turns this story takes are many-fold and it’s, as aforementioned, quite unfeasible that this is all real. Rather than his usual stock action hero Cruise is on smarmy, sometimes bumbling form here as a charming, but sometimes unlikable, character thrown from one mad scenario to the next.

He, as to be expected, hogs every scene and is a great guide to the story. The closest we get to action here are the many flight scenes and these, true to form, were performed by the man himself.

It’s a great romp, funny as well in parts, and keeps you hooked to its shock finale. The Medllin cartel are all the rage at the moment after Netflix’s excellent Narcos, and the many recent movies featuring Escobar (The Infiltrator probably being the pick of the bunch) but here I wasn’t as impressed by their portrayals as they have been in the aforementioned movies and shows but, granted, this story doesn’t wholly focus on them.

Some of Director Doug Liman’s cinematography and direction is a little baffling as well. Whilst sometimes excellent; the old-fashioned production logos and scrawled title cards are lovely touches, it’s often bizarre. Some of the shot choices seem deliberately obtuse and he has a horrid habit of throwing the odd handheld shot in which appears to have been filmed in a worse resolution. It’s horribly distracting and doesn’t give it the charm I’m sure he was hoping for.

All in all though, a brilliant deviation from the usual Cruise shtick and another fascinating tale surrounding the enthralling Escobar and the Medllin cartel. An enjoyable visit to the cinema.

4 stars ****