Amusing anti-hero or disgraced criminal, it's a movie with style

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2018)

American Made bears some similarity to movies like Air America, Catch Me If You Can, and Goodfellas, and other fashionable caper movies. It is a perfect vehicle for Tom Cruise, on whose charisma, smile, and appealing cockiness the movie hinges because we don't get a lot of psychological insight into the character, or learn why he was so determined to make more money than he could spend. Cruise played pilot Bruce Seale to distancing effect. This was well advised because the real protagonist was involved in some egregious criminal activities and the supporting roles don't have much stake in the story. But, this is a movie, and audiences can suspend their judgement when they see government agencies controlling its citizens with ultimatums. All in all, this is a story about one man - a citizen - at the centre of one of the most controversial political scandal of the early 1980s. That is at least interesting.