American Made - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

American Made

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I always chuckle at the phrase “based on a true story” whenever I look at a film. 9 times out of 10 the movie is HIGHLY fictionalized and really just a loose core of facts that act as the framework for a much more “entertaining” piece of fiction at the end of the day. American Made (directed by The Bourne Identity’s Doug Liman) is loosely based off of the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid 80s under Reagan Administration, but cheekily labels the movie’s tag line as “based off of a true lie”, which is probably the most accurate description of a film like this. Liman plays fast and loose with the facts of the real life Barry Seal, and really uses the IDEA of his involvement with the CIA than actual truth. The core elements are there from what I can tell from my research, but lots of window dressing, drama and Tom Cruise charisma all over the place. What is the end result is a charming, and kooky, film that is a lot of fun to watch and more of fun adventure movie than a piece of historical docu-drama.

Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is a hotshot young pilot for TWA who is just a bit bored with his job. He was the youngest pilot in their fleet and gets his kicks messing with the passengers here and there in an effort to keep from being TOTALLY bored in his seat. That is until he is approached by CIA agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) who wants to recruit Barry for a special project. He wants the bored pilot to get a taste of some real adventure by moonlighting as a pilot for them, and use their special aircraft to take pictures of Central America. Barry leaps at the chance to work for the famed CIA, and is soon coasting over Central America and having a blast. However, to the CIA he is just an asset, not an employee, so Barry’s limited paycheck from Uncle Sam beging to not be enough for the family man. When the infamous (to us at least, back then he was just a small time crook) Pablo Escobar and his cohorts approach the man about using his plane to smuggle drugs BACK across the border into the U.S., Barry has way out of debt.

What happens next creates the backbone of the famous Iran-Contra drug arms fiasco of the 1980s. While Barry is taking drugs back across the border, the CIA decides that the Contras rebels in Nicaragua need to be funded even though Congress has refused to allow “official” help to the freedom fighters. The CIA and other government agencies decide that they don’t really need “legal” approval and Barry is once again getting richer as he ships thousands and thousands of AK-47’s down to the Contral rebels. Who in turn are selling them to the Columbian drug cartels for cash (the Contras really weren’t interested in a war, they just wanted money), and the drug cartels used Barry to continue pouring coke into the U.S. populace. However, things like this don’t go on forever, and the full weight of the DEA, ATF and FBI get leveraged against the American pilot in an epic showdown that would unravel one of the largest illegal government backed debacles in the 20th century (that is until Operation Fast and Furious came out this century)

American Made isn’t so much a historical look at the real Barry Seal, or digging deep into the legal consequences of the Iran-Contra operation, but rather looks at what happens when someone grows too big, too fast. Barry starts out doing some shady stuff for the CIA, but soon begins playing both sides against the other, working for both teams and doing the CIA’s dirty jobs on one ledger, and the drug lords work in the other. Barry’s works is all well and good, but cash keeps flowing in faster and faster to the point that the pilot can’t keep flying under the radar (both literally and figuratively) forever. As he changes from aerial photographer to drug mule, to gunrunner, to head of an entire drug moving operation, Barry’s demeanor changes to one of pure invincibility, ending in his inevitable downfall.

The cast really makes this one. Tom Cruise is not what I would consider an AMAZING actor, but he chooses his roles well (except for the 2017 rendition of The Mummy) and is so wildly charismatic that you just have a blast with his movies, even if they aren’t the best. American Made is perfect for the man, as he gets to display his boyish charm and arrogance all over the place, which not only fits with the real life Barry Seal, but Tom Cruise himself. Domhnall Gleeson is fantastic as always (well, not ALWAYS considering his new roles in Star Wars) and Sarah Wright as Lucy Seal makes the whole trifecta the perfect match.




Rating:

Rated R for language throughout and some sexuality/nudity




Video:

American Made was first and foremost NOT meant to be a demo worthy film in the video department. The digitally shot (and 2K mastered) film was carefully crafted using a variety of cameras and visual styles to make the film look authentically “old” and from the 80s. The only really “stable” part of the film is its ability to be unstable throughout the whole runtime. Some shots will be sharp and clean, while others hazy and faded, while still others blasted with boosted contrasts and a diffused look to them. Fine details are good, but still show some smeared softness to them that doesn’t allow for razor sharp detail. Some of the smooshed textures and lack of detail look almost artificial and compressed, while others are very much design as we see handicam shots intermingled with bobbing digital cameras in Barry’s apartment. It’s a well done transfer based upon the source material, but as I will say in my 4K review, I don’t think the Blu-ray had the bitrate or the storage capabilities to really pull the best from the HEAVILY stylized source material.





Audio:

Like usual, Universal is generous and puts the next gen audio tracks on BOTH its 4K and its Blu-ray releases, which in this case is a hefty DTS:X track that really rock and rolls. The track is just destined to dazzle, with a huge spaciousness to it, ranging from Barry flying in his jets, to the rattle and rolling of the Columbian military coming to put away Escobar and his friends. Gunshots ring with hefty weight, and the roar of said jets really vibrate every piece of drywall in my listening arena. Vocals are crisp and well placed up front, while the dynamic range manages to be explosive and huge, yet still not require one to raise and lower the volume to feel comfortable. The jets make great use of the overheads, pumping it up with rumbling power and a “whoosh” that is almost felt when Barry rockets by overhead, and the regular surrounds are given more than ample opportunity to shine throughout the movie.





Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• American Storytellers
• Cruise and Liman: A Conversation
• In the Wings
• Shooting American Made
• Flying High
• The Real Barry Seal

Final Score: ​

American Made is a bit quirky, and plays fast n’ loose with the truth, but it is a fun bit of fictionalized history that plays to Doug Liman and Tom Cruise’s strengths quite nicely. The movie is charming, goofy, off the wall, and surprisingly brutal at times with an all star cast making it all that it could be. The Blu-ray has decent video, FANTASTIC audio, and the film is STACKED with extras to enjoy (something that is becoming more and more scarce as time goes on). The ability to just lose oneself into the frivolity and cheekiness of the escapism film is just what the doctor ordered and I have to give this a solid thumbs up.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Tom Cruise, Sara Wright, Domhnall Gleeson
Directed by: Doug Liman
Written by: Gary Spinelli
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS:X (DTS-HD MA 7.1 Core), English DTS Headphone:X, French, Spanish DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 115 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 2nd, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fun Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will catch this one once available on Amazon Prime/Netflix.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm brining this one into the collection... looks like a good one!