American Made (2017)

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is a TWA pilot with a penchant for mischief.  When introduced, he intentionally nosedives an airliner and then explains it away as turbulence.  He is caught smuggling Cuban cigars for extra cash.  Such antics bring him to the attention of Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) as a potential resource.  Soon, Barry is flying recon missions over Central America and Columbia.  However, the CIA isn't paying well and he finds a new income source by transporting drugs into the US.  At risk of being arrested - but given warning by Schafer, Barry flees to Mena, Arkansas, a sleepy town with an airport that miraculously becomes Barry's property.  His business expands and Barry brings in more pilots.  Now he is running guns to the Contras in Nicaragua and drugs for the Columbians, or maybe vice versa.  Eventually, the crimes catch up to Barry and Schafer abandons him to law enforcement.

Based on the true story of Barry Seal (1939-1986), the movie has cameos by noteworthy characters.  Pablo Escobar is one of the Columbian drug lords from the Medellin Cartel, George W Bush sits sheepishly next to Barry at the White House while announcing that he too is a pilot, Ronald & Nancy Reagan have their 'Just Say No' to drugs TV appearance, and the Governor of Arkansas (Bill Clinton) instructs law enforcement to cut Barry loose despite mountains of evidence.

How much of this is true and how much is exaggeration and make believe?  Barry comes across as reckless and not too bright, but somehow is wildly successful.  Is it all down to his connections with the CIA?  Barry thought he was a CIA operative, but he was clearly just a pawn.  How did he not see that?  Was he willfully blind to it on account of all the money?

This was an unusual role for Tom Cruise.  Typically, he plays intense characters who, at some point, is going to deliver a line with a sharpness of a knife's edge or glare so hard that he could break a brick.  Barry doesn't have edges or hard surfaces.  Also, Barry never does the mad sprint, a staple of Tom Cruise movies.  He once fled on a bike, which was clumsy and comic.  He's a go with the flow sort of guy.  His frequent haplessness makes one wonder how he thrives in such a cutthroat industry.

For a movie that views itself as an action comedy film, the comedy is not the laugh out loud kind and the action is mostly stunt flying.  When Barry sees action, he is usually the victim of it.  Overall, it is just okay.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Ethan (Tom Cruise), Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) are out to purchase plutonium before terrorists can get it.  However, the mission goes bad and Ethan risks the plutonium to save Luther.  Though he saves Luther, the plutonium is in the wind.  Though they have a backup plan, CIA demands to have an agent along.  August Walker (Henry Cavill) is a CIA assassin who does not play well with others.  The new plan is to get the plutonium before Solomon Lane's (Sean Harris) - main villain from Rogue Nation - network gets it; the plan requires freeing Lane from French custody.

 

The movie is a long action romp that demonstrates Tom Cruise's athleticism and willingness to perform stunts.  He flies a helicopter, jumps out of a plane, rides a motorcycle against traffic, and leaps from roof to roof (during which he broke his ankle and delayed the film).  Tom isn't the only one to have an action-packed adventure.  Simon Pegg is more hands on than in previous films.  Rebecca Ferguson also returns from Rogue Nation and she is both adversary and ally.  Henry Cavill has a complex role that is similar to Ferguson - adversary and ally, which shows more range in his acting than his Superman gig.

 

Fallout is non-stop and surprisingly good story-telling.  Though it is two and a half hours long, the time goes quickly.  The pacing is excellent and it has no slow parts.  Well made film.  Go see it.