‘I’m the gringo who always delivers…’
I really love biopics that have a voiceover. I’m not a fan of complicated plots, so it is instructive to have somebody explain to me what is going on as the movie plays. It helps for the monkey brain, you see. I often feel like my own life would benefit from some narration, particularly if said narrator was offering sage advice on how to get out of sticky situations. Anyway, I digress. American Made not only has some lovely narration, it also stars little Tommy Cruise. Be still my beating heart…
Barry Seal (Cruise) is an airline pilot who is recruited to the CIA by the sinister Monty Shafer (Domhnall Gleeson), but winds up being involved in drug smuggling and various diplomatic incidents. Director Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow) moves liberally between fact and fiction in the name of entertainment. As is his right.
It’s fitting that Barry Seal sounds like a made up character from Cruise’s ’80s heyday because this all action performance harks back to the days when TC was actually fun to watch on screen. As much as I am a convert to the Mission: Impossible franchise, Tommy doesn’t have a whole of fun in those movies. American Made is closer to Top Gun or Days of Thunder, and the result is one of Cruise’s best performances in years. While the supporting cast all do a sterling job, particularly Gleeson and Sarah Wright as the long suffering Mrs Seal, this is the Tom Cruise show. A reminder that he is as A list as they come. Perhaps the greatest movie star of his generation. That particular accolade definitely belongs to Cruise or Hanks. A great pair of Toms.
Anyway, back to American Made. Here we have an incredible story told with a directorial flourish that results in a film that is an easy watch without being too throwaway. In essence, it’s absolutely vintage Tom Cruise.