The Wolf of Mena, Arkansas

Rating: 6/10 (23 February 2018)

A story about a con artist having the time of his life, tons of money, hot wife and all, till the payback time came. Oh yeah? That's too innovative to be true!
But even if Martin Scorsese haven't made his masterpiece four years ago, American Made would still not feel great. This typical story of a smug guy getting his hands dirty, just a bit at first, and, little by little, he's shoulder deep in some complex mess and has a hard time hiding cash in suitcases - it feels so overused that even the custom set of plot zigzags or the quirky little scenes don't transform it into anything you'd really wanna pay attention to.
It's hardly Tom Cruise's fault - after all, he's doing what he's always been doing, that is, smiling wide, talking smooth and emanating confidence. Neither it's the fault of any other cast member. Especially Caleb Landry Jones: this guy seems to be everywhere hot this season. And even if this movie will definitely not become the peak of his thespian career, the likes of Get Out and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are an alibi enough.
Maybe we should simply admit that this film was never supposed to be anything great. Just a generic crime adventure with an already infamous "based on real events" stamp. To be great wasn't even the goal - to avoid being a failure was (mostly a box office one). But fear not: the sufficient amount of properties of a consumable product is here. Will it taste good? Probably not really. But who cares about taste as long as you don't make a scene and don't ask for a refund. Nothing personal, just business. That's what being American made is about after all, isn't it?