Not a bad film, but also a missed opportunity

Rating: 6/10 (12 September 2017)

"American Made" is (of course) an American English-language (occasional Spanish) movie from 2017, so a really new release. It runs for almost two hours and was directed by Doug Liman who is mostly known for his work on the Bourne movies (as a producer) and of course on "Edge of Tomorrow" where he worked with Tom Cruise too. The writer is Gary Spinelli and this is perhaps his breakthrough film we have here. I already mentioned lead actor Tom Cruise and he is in almost every scene of the film. I kinda like him, in other projects more than here perhaps, but I still thought he did a decent job all in all and not many would have given a better lead performance. Then again, despite the great deal of screen time in here, it always feels as if the movie is more about the situation and story really than about the protagonist. This may also have to do with the fact that the character of Barry Seal really did exist, so there is a great deal of historic relevance to it.
But sadly, the execution never really lives up to the promise. Reading a bit about Seal I must say I am embarrassed I never heard of him before and I am sure this is the case for many, especially outside of America, so the movie also has a certain educational level. Where it does not always deliver. The narrative often lacked sufficient focus and seemed all over the place at times, maybe due to the writer's lack of experience. You can see at times that they were taking the Argo approach, but it's rather a poor man's version. I also think the film would have worked much better as a gritty crime drama, maybe thriller. The ways in which they included slightly comedic scenes felt rushed and forced and a for-the-sake-of-it impression is always a bad thing. At its most dramatic moments, such as the ending too, the film is very good, but it loses itself in its desperate attempts to come off as light, probably to attract more people to theaters, and it also feels a bit on the repetitive side. So yeah, there is a great deal of substance and relevance to this man's story from a historic perspective, even today, and I don't think they came close in reaching what the premise had to offer. This is especially disappointing as now it will be at least another decade, probably more, until Barry Seal gets another, hopefully better biopic. Not that this one is a bad film by any means, it's a pretty entertaining one in fact and I recommend the watch. I couldn't care less about the media's decade-long smear campaigns about Cruise's religion and (former) relationships because as long as he keeps delivering quality like he does here, count me in as one of his fans. "American Made" gets a cautious thumbs-up. Go check it out.