American Made (2017)

The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.

Director:

Doug Liman

Writer:

Gary Spinelli

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Barry Seal
Domhnall Gleeson	...	Monty 'Schafer'
Sarah Wright	...	Lucy Seal
Jesse Plemons	...	Sheriff Downing
Caleb Landry Jones	...	JB
Lola Kirke	...	Judy Downing
Jayma Mays	...	Dana Sibota
Alejandro Edda	...	Jorge Ochoa
Benito Martinez	...	James Rangel
E. Roger Mitchell	...	Agent Craig McCall
Jed Rees	...	Louis Finkle
Fredy Yate	...	Carlos Lehder (as Fredy Yate Escobar)
Mauricio Mejía	...	Pablo Escobar
Robert Farrior	...	Oliver North
Morgan Hinkleman	...	Christina

Storyline

Barry Seal was just an ordinary pilot who worked for TWA before he was recruited by the CIA in 1978. His work in South America eventually caught the eye of the Medellín Cartel, associated with Pablo Escobar, who needed a man with his skill set. Barry became a drug trafficker, gun smuggler and money launderer. Soon acquiring the title, 'The gringo that always delivers'.

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Plot Keywords:

based on real person | airplane pilot | year 1978 | colombia | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

Based on a True Lie

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the shooting on location the crew from American Made and the crew from the Netflix show Narcos kept bumping into each other, to the surprise of Cruise, who hadn't heard of the show but promised he would watch it.

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Goofs

The airplane with the tail registration number 'N164HH' shows up brand new in Barry Seal's hangar in Mena, after having one engine burnt and fuselage shot while Barry was taking photos over Columbia in the previous scene. However, he could have several airplanes with same number, considering they were given by CIA, and one sequence shows various registration numbers being altered.

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Quotes

[holding a duffel bag]
Lucy Seal: Roscoe dug this up in the backyard. There are bills blowing around everywhere.
Barry Seal: I'll rake it up in the morning.

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Crazy Credits

The end of the credits has a dedication "For Arthur". This is to Arthur Liman, the father of the director, Doug Liman.

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Connections

Featured in American Made: American Storytellers (2017)

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Soundtracks

Wah-Wah
Written & Performed by George Harrison
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Cruise makes a Comeback

Tom Cruise is back with a vengeance and after the train wreck that was The Mummy i can safely say that this movie proved that Cruise can act and Liman can direct.

While the narrative structure isn't always the best flowing the movie delivers great performances, an atmosphere that sucks you into the time period, and well made shots.

A highly underrated movie that i would personally recommend and a definite 8/10.

Details

Country:

USA Japan Colombia

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

29 September 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mena

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,776,390, 1 October 2017

Gross USA:

$51,342,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$134,866,593

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cross Creek Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Quadrant Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos SDDS DTS (DTS: X) Auro 11.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1