American Made

Doug Liman is awesome and Tom Cruise rocks again. nice Barry Seal is a very story that is interesting and engaging enough to draw you in from the very beginning. The film benefits greatly from an interesting filter and at times I felt I was watching an episode of Narcos, which may well have been Doug Liman's inspiration. Working for the CIA and the narcos at the same time may be attractive, but it's a hard job that you can't escape or you'll die. The sex scene on the plane was awesome. A very entertaining film 80% (2017-10-25)

A very likeable film from start to finish. You can cheer for the main hero, although he's not fully a good guy, it's thrilling and funny and it has a pleasant retro look and sound. I often thought of Gold with Mathew McConaughey, which, of course, had something extra and I liked even more, but I rarely thought of the much worse The Wolf of Wall Street. Tom Cruise shows us why he still belongs amongst the most sympathetic and best actors. (2017-09-06)

American Made is a very straightforward crime comedy without any major stumbling blocks and it makes no effort to face us with any difficult moral dilemmas. It conspicuously imitates the style of Scorsese’s films (pop songs, a narrator intervening in the story and determining what we see and how we see it, attention-grabbing camerawork and editing) and cashes in on the popularity of the TV series Narcos, so it comes across as unoriginal and predictable, but thanks to the smooth (albeit slightly mechanical) narrative and Cruise’s charisma, it is entertaining from start to finish. The position of the main protagonist is unusual (for a Hollywood movie), as he lets himself be dragged along by circumstances and merely accepts outside offers and follows orders dictated to him through almost the entire film. He can demonstrate his ingenuity only in the way he carries out deliveries of certain goods, not in what he actually does. It would almost be possible to interpret him as the embodiment of American pragmatism, the ability to adapt to the given situation and make the most of it for himself, but we know too much about him (compared to the other characters, who are really only types) to perceive him in such an impersonal way, and relatively strong emphasis is placed on the family storyline (which, however, the film handles much more carelessly than The Wolf of Wall Street, for example – you will probably care as little about the protagonist’s wife and children as you did for Barry). Of the films that “comfort” us with the fact that people may be bad, but their governments are worse (War Dogs, American Hustle), this one gets bonus points in my eyes for taking the procedural side of things into greater consideration and for not pretending to be anything better. It’s simply light summer macho entertainment that does everything possible to keep the viewer from getting bored for even a second and, unlike Atomic Blonde and The Hitman’s Bodyguard, it does that very well. 70% (2017-08-23)

Clever and funny. This will stay around for a while. Cruise and Liman began to hit it off together on the Edge of Tomorrow and the chemistry continues in this free biography of smuggler, Barry Seal. Great comedy style, tongue-in-cheek to damning reminder of the insensitivity of the government. Perfect late 70s atmosphere, great music and two hours of good, honest fun. (2017-09-02)

After The Mummy, Tom Cruise apparently relaxed and enjoyed this 1980s summer romp perhaps even more than many viewers. It’s hard to deny that the premise is uninteresting, but the execution and especially the pacing are a challenge. It's a movie about a huckster pilot that basically flies on autopilot the whole time and everything is clearly lined up (and repetitive). There is no moment of surprise, no vivacity and no drive, you can anticipate the screenwriter's intentions three moves ahead. You still may get a taste of this summer ride, but it's not the experience of the year. The attempt to align itself with Scorsese's legends with its razor-sharp jokes and sarcastic undertones is there, but unfortunately often off-target. (2017-09-01)