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

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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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Johannes S

Very entertaining story. I find it has the same problem as the movie "Blow", where it tries to portray the main character in a likeable light, when in reality the guy did some serious crimes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/19/24

Full Review

Albert W

Pretty entertaining... Tom was fun to watch and makes the movie more enjoyable. They must have really dramatized the reality though. I thought it was pretty unrealistic to have all those bags of money everywhere... among other things... but doesn't matter, a movie is for entertainment. This wasn't a documentary.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/29/24

Full Review

Jay W

"American Made" is based on the true story of Berry Seal, who becomes a mule for both the CIA running guns to Nicaragua, and for the Narcos running Cocaine to America. This is an interesting part of recent American history, but at the end of the film, I find myself asking: what was the point? The movie does a great job of informing its audience about the underhanded details of the operation. It is told from the point of view of Tom Cruise's Berry Seal. The main problem stems from having Berry as the protagonist of the story. A lot of the story he is just kind of going with the flow. CIA tells him to do this, he says "sure". Then the Narcos tell him to do something else, "fine". The focus isn't much on the suspense of him being caught in the crime, it is more on the escapism of imagining having all of this money and not knowing what to do with it. This can be entertaining, but after a while, the novelty wears off. All the actors involved put in a good performance. The movie has good pacing, there doesn't feel like any time is wasted. And it has a unique, dark and cynical sense of humor about the whole thing. A lot of people seem to like it, it just isn't for me. It is entertaining and informative. I simply found myself actively rooting against our main character. Made in the USA...huh, no thank you.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/21/24

Full Review

Chadwick H

Fun entertaining film showing a different side to the drug trade. I know if the man..interesting story. I found myself falling more after and that’s the best you could ask for. Tom Cruise showing some range

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/01/24

Full Review

Georgan G

This film is basically fiction only using a name that is real. The facts of the Iran Contra Affair are correct. Almost enjoyed it despite myself.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

mohit R

American made is a great movie of a american history during the cold war it is a very eye opening athought it movie does feel rushed. Tom cruise does a great preformace.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/10/24

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

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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

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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

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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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