American Made (film)

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American Made
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDoug Liman
Written byGary Spinelli
Produced by
StarringTom Cruise
CinematographyCésar Charlone
Edited by
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • August 24, 2017 (2017-08-24) (Indonesia)
Running time
117 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6.7 million[2]

American Made is a 2017 American biographical crime film directed by Doug Liman, written by Gary Spinelli and starring Tom Cruise.[3] The film is based on the life of Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who became a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s.[4] In order to avoid jail time, Seal approached United States government officials and served as an informant for the DEA.[4] The film is scheduled to be released in Indonesia on August 24, 2017, and is the first directed by Liman to be released by Universal Pictures since The Bourne Identity in 2002.

Plot

In the late 1970s, Barry Seal is a pilot for commercial airline TWA. A CIA agent contacts him and asks him to fly clandestine reconnaissance missions for the CIA over South America using a small plane with cameras installed. Seal accepts.

Later in the 1970s, the CIA asks Seal to start acting as a courier between them and General Noriega in Panama. During a mission, the Medellin Cartel picks Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine on his return flights to the USA. Seal accepts and starts flying the cartel’s cocaine to Louisiana. The CIA turns a blind eye to the drug smuggling, but the DEA track Seal down. The CIA warn Seal, who moves to a remote town in Arkansas called Mena.

Later, the CIA ask Seal to run guns to the Contras. Seal soon realises that the Contras are not serious, so he starts delivering the guns to the cartel. The CIA set up a Contra training base in Mena and Seal flies the Contras in, but most of them disappear as soon as they arrive.

Eventually, the CIA shut the program down and abandon Seal to the FBI, DEA and other law enforcement. Seal escapes prosecution by making a deal with the White House, which wants evidence the Sandinistas are drug traffickers. They ask Seal to get photos that tie the Medelin Cartel to the Sandinistas. Seal manages to get the pictures and the White House releases them as propaganda against the Sandinistas. The cartel now want Seal dead. Also, as Seal is in the pictures himself, he’s arrested.

Seal is convicted, and given community service which means he has to report to the same Salvation Army hostel each night. Eventually, assassins shoot and kill him. The CIA then seize all the evidence to avoid being implicated in drug smuggling.[5]

Cast

Production

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on May 27, 2015 in Georgia.[7] Filming locations include counties Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens.[7] On August 20, 2015, Tom Cruise arrived in Medellin, Colombia, and on August 31 arrived in Santa Marta[8] to scout for filming locations for the film.[9]

Plane crash

A plane crash on the set of the film in Colombia on September 11, 2015 killed two people and caused serious injuries to another member of the crew. The plane (a twin-engine Aerostar), which was carrying crew members (three American pilots), was returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín when it ran into bad weather and the crash occurred.[10] The dead were later identified as Carlos Berl and Alan Purwin, who was the founder and president of Helinet Aviation, a company which provides aerial surveillance technology to government agencies and law enforcement, and a film pilot who had worked in top films. American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland was seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital.[11][12]

Release

In May 2015, Universal set the film for a January 6, 2017 release.[13] On August 8, 2016, the film's release was pushed to September 29, 2017, presumably to avoid competition with Amityville: The Awakening and Underworld: Blood Wars. It also received its final title, American Made, at this time, having been known prior as Mena.[14] The film will be released on September 29, 2017 in the US.

Box office

The film was released in 21 countries on August 25, 2017 and grossed a total of $6.7 million over the weekend. It finished number one in 11 of the territories, including the UK where it dethroned four-time reigning champ Dunkirk.[15]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89% based on 36 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "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."[16] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 63 out of 100, based 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]

References

  1. ^ "AMERICAN MADE". 20th Century Fox. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "American Made (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  3. ^ Sedighzadeh, Kazem. "Tom Cruise Adds 'Mena' to Busy Filming Schedule!". Masterherald.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Loughrey, Clarisse (August 24, 2017). "Barry Seal: The real-life story behind Tom Cruise's character in American Made; Doug Liman's new film follows the wild true story of a pilot, drug smuggler, and eventual informant". The Independent. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "American Made – Movie Review". Graeme Shimmin. August 2017.
  6. ^ Hipes, Patrick (April 13, 2015). "Jayma Mays Joins Tom Cruise's 'Mena'; Tessa Thompson Cast In Indie 'War On Everyone'". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Universal Starts Production on Doug Liman's Mena, Starring Tom Cruise". comingsoon.net. May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  8. ^ "Tom Cruise llega a Santa Marta para grabar escenas de su película". RCN Radio. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  9. ^ Casa Editorial El Tiempo. "Tom Cruise en Colombia: nueva película - Barranquilla - ELTIEMPO.COM". El Tiempo. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  10. ^ A. Lincoln, Ross (September 11, 2015). "Fatal Plane Crash Claims 2 Lives On Set Of Tom Cruise Film 'Mena'". deadline.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  11. ^ Brumfield, Ben; Williams, Alima (September 12, 2015). "Tom Cruise movie crew members in plane crash that kills 2 in Colombia". CNN. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  12. ^ Cowden, Catarina. "Deadly Plane Crash Occurs On Set Of Tom Cruise Film Mena". cinemablend.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  13. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (May 27, 2015). "Universal Sets Tom Cruise-Doug Liman 'Mena' Flight Plan For January 2017". deadline.com. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  14. ^ Busch, Anita (April 21, 2016). "'American Made': Universal Moves Tom Cruise-Doug Liman Film Up One Week – Update".
  15. ^ "'Valerian' Tops China; 'Wonder Woman' Hits $400M Overseas – International Box Office". Deadline.com. August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  16. ^ "American Made (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  17. ^ "American Made reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 26, 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Made_(film)&oldid=798106276"