Top class entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2019)

The plot is loosely based on the real story of Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who worked for the CIA and also as a drug and weapons smuggler.
Cruise is in top form as Barry, the reckless pilot who abandons the safe but boring job of airline pilot to embark on a little spying. The aerial photographing of Central America soon turns into more dangerous assignments, reaching the point of no return when Barry starts working for the Medellin cartel.
Weapons smuggling is added into the mix, together with training Nicaraguan Contras. It's a major political mess, during which Barry manages to earn huge amounts of cash, for which he must find creative hiding places (think Breaking Bad, but funnier).
The film is brilliantly edited, with an authentic feeling for the period (it takes place between the end of the 70s and 1986). The main narrative is interspersed with Barry recording events chronologically and his effort will make sense at the end.
Even if the story is not about funny events, the ride is most agreeable.