American Made

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2:27

American Made

R

Released Sep 29, 2017

1h 55m

Comedy

Drama

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

85%

Tomatometer

267 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Barry Seal, a TWA pilot, is recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist threat in Central America and soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellin cartel and almost brings down the Reagan White House.

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Critics Consensus

American Made's fast-and-loose attitude with its real-life story mirrors the cavalier -- and delightfully watchable -- energy Tom Cruise gives off in the leading role.

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David Sims

The Atlantic

But by the time the movie roared to its shockingly grim, remarkably embittered ending, American Made had won me over.

Oct 13, 2017

Full Review

Katie Walsh

Tribune News Service

It skitters and jumps, shivers and boot-scoots, never, ever sitting still. You could say it's like "Blow," on well, blow. But there's a breezy sunniness to this film, which looks like a faded snapshot reclaimed from an '80s photo album.

Oct 7, 2017

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

One assumes that Cruise got this film made, yet he's a terrible fit for the role: he's always done his best work portraying smart, insightful characters in dramatic stories, but Seal was a yahoo whose sorry escapades are played here for cynical laughs.

Oct 5, 2017

Full Review

Colin Biggs

Vague Visages

American Made might push Cruise further along his evolution to more interesting, character-based roles. One doesn’t expect an immediate return to iconic roles like Vincent Lauria or T.J. Mackey, but hopefully Barry Seal is just the start.

Dec 1, 2023

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

"American Made" is southern-fried Scorsese Lite, a gumbo of decadent deviance masking over a sharp spice of potentially fatal risks.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 26, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Regardless of its exciting story and sharp ending, the film contains almost no lasting consequence and feels more like an adventure than the story of a real-world scandal, rather troublingly so.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 17, 2022

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Amber M

American Made might push Cruise further along his evolution to more interesting, character-based roles. One doesn’t expect an immediate return to iconic roles like Vincent Lauria or T.J. Mackey, but hopefully Barry Seal is just the start.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/03/25

Full Review

Jen O

Couldn’t love this film more!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/31/25

Full Review

Shawna R

Tom Cruise's charisma makes Barry Seal a captivating character, presenting in his story the most brazen side of the American dream.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/25/25

Full Review

zachary w

This movie surpasses both Tom Cruise’s (Top Gun) movies IMO. I enjoyed both the Top Gun films however, this was more entertaining because it’s based on a true story from the Cold War. To add on from my perspective, it doesn’t always take crazy stunts to make a better movie. If that’s all I want, I’ll just pop in the movie “Jackass” lol.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/23/25

Full Review

David L

American Made is one of the best kinds of biopics: A tale that makes me want to explore the story further and find out more about its subject.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/18/25

Full Review

Alejandro E

A real-life event, adapted with a comedic tone. Somehow it was how this film arouses interest, so much so that the viewer decides to investigate more about the characters. To watch on a weekend afternoon.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/25/25

Full Review

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Doug Liman

Director

Tom Cruise

Barry Seal

Domhnall Gleeson

Monty "Schafer"

Sarah Wright

Lucy Seal

Jesse Plemons

Sheriff Downing

Caleb Landry Jones

JB

American Made: Official Clip - Pablo's Revenge

2:47

American Made: Official Clip - Barry Gets Burned

2:03

American Made: Official Clip - A Cadillac for Your Troubles

2:27

American Made: Official Clip - Outflying the DEA

2:11

American Made: Official Clip - Becoming a Drug Plane

4:26

American Made: Official Clip - Setting Up Escobar

3:00

American Made: Official Clip - Goodbye, JB

2:48

American Made: Official Clip - The Gringo Who Delivers

3:12

American Made: Official Clip - Celebrating with Escobar

2:56

American Made: Official Clip - Summer '82

2:14

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American Made: Behind the Scenes - Helicopters and Airplanes

1:25

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Who is Barry Seal?

1:18

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Really Unique

1:09

American Made: Behind the Scenes - On the Front Lines

1:25

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Outrageous Story

1:23

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Pilot & Adventurer

1:05

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Film School Bootcamp

1:05

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Mena, Arkansas

0:56

American Made: Behind the Scenes - Schafer in CIA Meeting

0:34

American Made: B-Roll

5:28

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Synopsis

Barry Seal, a TWA pilot, is recruited by the CIA to provide reconnaissance on the burgeoning communist threat in Central America and soon finds himself in charge of one of the biggest covert CIA operations in the history of the United States. The operation spawns the birth of the Medellin cartel and almost brings down the Reagan White House.

Director: Doug Liman
Producer: Brian Grazer, Brian Oliver, Doug Davison, Kim Roth, Ray Angelic, Tyler Thompson
Screenwriter: Gary Spinelli
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Quadrant Pictures, Brian Grazer, Hercules Film Fund, Vendian Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Sexuality/Nudity|Language Throughout)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 29, 2017, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $51.3M
Runtime: 1h 55m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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