This fictionalized account of smuggler Barry Seal has much to recommend it. Cruise is his usual charming self, the film is interspersed with these interesting montage moments, and there is breezy humor and an intriguing story of criminals working hand in hand with the U.S. government.
But by the midpoint I was just feeling kind of disengaged. I wasn't quite sure what the point was. And Cruise felt slightly off in a role that would make more sense to me if he seemed a bit stupider and trashier; it seemed the equivalent of casting George Clooney to play Lyndon Johnson.
In the end, I would say American Made was perfectly fine, but it's the sort of movie I will have completely forgotten in a month.
But by the midpoint I was just feeling kind of disengaged. I wasn't quite sure what the point was. And Cruise felt slightly off in a role that would make more sense to me if he seemed a bit stupider and trashier; it seemed the equivalent of casting George Clooney to play Lyndon Johnson.
In the end, I would say American Made was perfectly fine, but it's the sort of movie I will have completely forgotten in a month.