The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
- Awards
- 3 nominations total
Fredy Yate
- Carlos Lehder
- (as Fredy Yate Escobar)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
A great story perfectly representing those years and with a stunning performance by Tom Cruise. I would say one of the best movie ever, in this genre, which is midway between a CIA based film and a biopic one. Barry's narration, delivered direct to camera, takes the form of a series of clips from a fuzzy home video supposedly shot in the mid-1980s, laying out the historical background in a dense fashion (he pretends at one point to confuse two countries) which seems most directly indebted to Adam McKay's The Big Short. The biggest coup is the casting of Cruise, who functions as a pure icon, recycling all his usual mannerisms – the grin, the hand gestures – and even revisiting his past as a pilot in Top Gun. The catch is that his depthless showboating for once seems intended as anything but likable.
American Made was a good watch - the story keeps a good steady momentum, the direction and editing are vibrant and dynamic. It has the vibes of something like Wolf of Wall St or a Guy Ritchie film, where despite the nature of the events you find yourself rooting for a criminal and laughing at the black comedy of how things unfold.
But it stays firmly in the mode of fast-paced 'zany' without ever really digging into emotions, desperation, or any human reflection. Barry Seal as a character remains a breezy, zany blur. Its just that kind of film. I think Cruise has a lot to do with that - his vanity as an actor, having to be seen as either confused- smiley or cool-intense in any given moment limits his courage to do anything else (Born on the Fourth of July was a real anomaly for him in terms of range).
Its as entertaining as any two episodes of Narcos - but without Narcos' complexity and variance. Good but not great, definitely worthy of a viewing.
But it stays firmly in the mode of fast-paced 'zany' without ever really digging into emotions, desperation, or any human reflection. Barry Seal as a character remains a breezy, zany blur. Its just that kind of film. I think Cruise has a lot to do with that - his vanity as an actor, having to be seen as either confused- smiley or cool-intense in any given moment limits his courage to do anything else (Born on the Fourth of July was a real anomaly for him in terms of range).
Its as entertaining as any two episodes of Narcos - but without Narcos' complexity and variance. Good but not great, definitely worthy of a viewing.
I do love Tom Cruise movies...he is great... but in this instance....this movie is yet another remake....it should be called American Re maid....the original with the late Dennis Hopper was more believable and funnier.......Tom should keep his flying movies to Top Gun and its sequels.....So watch this movie with a grain of salt and than go watch Double Crossed...and tell me what you think... I believe you will be pleasantly surprised!!1
In director Doug Liman who Tom Cruise has worked with a few times, Cruise has found someone who he could loosen up with a little, make a lower budget colourful flashy film where Cruise can be a little chaotic and free wheeling.
American Made is a fast paced film. A wily, naughty mischievous risk taker Barry Seal who goes from being a TWA pilot to a CIA contractor who ends up supplying arms to trafficking drugs for Escobar to training an illegal right wing Nicaraguan army.
Seal makes so much money he does not know what to do with it or even hide it. Of course there is a downside, eventually they are all after him and even his cunning cannot evade them all. Pursued by the FBI, Police, DEA, various cartels, Seal really has nowhere to run or hide.
Cruise seems to be enjoying himself on screen, Liman keeps the film moving but in a sense it is a familiar story. Once Seal makes it big, has a few bumps along the road, you even get that scene when you know the decline in his fortunes will start.
American Made is a fast paced film. A wily, naughty mischievous risk taker Barry Seal who goes from being a TWA pilot to a CIA contractor who ends up supplying arms to trafficking drugs for Escobar to training an illegal right wing Nicaraguan army.
Seal makes so much money he does not know what to do with it or even hide it. Of course there is a downside, eventually they are all after him and even his cunning cannot evade them all. Pursued by the FBI, Police, DEA, various cartels, Seal really has nowhere to run or hide.
Cruise seems to be enjoying himself on screen, Liman keeps the film moving but in a sense it is a familiar story. Once Seal makes it big, has a few bumps along the road, you even get that scene when you know the decline in his fortunes will start.
Ever wondered what it would be like to see Tom Cruise taking a break from his usual Sci-Fi & Impossible series "avatar". Well, here is your answer - It gets even more exciting and entertaining. This is Tom Cruise's real life take on the impossible series where Barry Seal replaces Ethan Hunt and CIA as the agency, which dictates the terms. It's just that Barry loves to go with the flow and without any intention of getting involved with anything that seems out of his league and this is something each one of us can relate to. He is your usual guy who happens to be a pilot and wants to make some extra cash with every extra mile. So what's wrong with it? Well nothing is wrong when you do it for the right guys, and nothing gets more exciting and dangerous when those right guys turn out to be CIA.
What is even more amusing and entertaining to watch is the fact that despite having no choice left but to cooperate with CIA, "Barry Seal never says no" to any offer (even if it comes from any drug lord) that helps him maintain his cash flow that obviously was becoming unmanageable for him by every passing day. Although, I must admit that it was quite a fun to watch him trying to manage millions of cash that he had no idea how to spend.
You will definitely enjoy watching Tom cruise as Barry Seal who uses CIA to get his end of the bargain (and they thought that they were the only smart guys who live in one of the greatest countries of the world).
If you want to go on an adventure trip, go watch this movie and you will understand what Tom Cruise really means when he says, "I am just a gringo who always delivers".
What is even more amusing and entertaining to watch is the fact that despite having no choice left but to cooperate with CIA, "Barry Seal never says no" to any offer (even if it comes from any drug lord) that helps him maintain his cash flow that obviously was becoming unmanageable for him by every passing day. Although, I must admit that it was quite a fun to watch him trying to manage millions of cash that he had no idea how to spend.
You will definitely enjoy watching Tom cruise as Barry Seal who uses CIA to get his end of the bargain (and they thought that they were the only smart guys who live in one of the greatest countries of the world).
If you want to go on an adventure trip, go watch this movie and you will understand what Tom Cruise really means when he says, "I am just a gringo who always delivers".
Did you know
- TriviaTom Cruise is a qualified pilot. He did all of his own flying scenes during filming.
- GoofsBarry Seal did not quit his job at TWA. In July of 1972 he was fired for taking fraudulent medical leave in order to participate in an explosives smuggling operation.
- Quotes
Barry Seal: I'm the gringo who always delivers.
- Crazy creditsAt the very end of the credits, tucked among the copyright disclaimers is the sentence, "And yes, we know that's not El Salvador." This is a reference to a joke in the film about mistaking El Salvador for Nicaragua on the map. In fact, the country on the map was neither El Salvador nor Nicaragua, it was Honduras.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Half in the Bag: The Mummy (2017)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Barry Seal, sólo en América
- Filming locations
- Ball Ground, Georgia, USA(Mena, Arkansas)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $51,342,000
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,776,390
- Oct 1, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $134,866,593
- Runtime
- 1h 55m(115 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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