Movie Review: American Made

While I groaned at the film's seemingly lengthy runtime, American Made was strangely appealing. It simply didn't hold back on the excessiveness that surrounded its main character, which was perfectly crafted for Tom Cruise, and it was quite a watch. Most of it came from the highly stylized execution and direction of Doug Liman, which kept things hyper-paced, but equally redundant and repetitive. The film used every trick possible to make the visuals more exciting as it ratcheted up the sharp edits and quick cuts, but that was also the film's biggest problem. The frenetic film editing and camera work often felt gimmicky and lost the emotional response that I thought I should have towards the story and that ironically made everything feel monotonous. Don't get me wrong. American Made was, to say the least, amusing. It was exhausting at times, but still quite entertaining. If only it toned down just a bit, things would've felt more authentic, but I guess, that was part of the appeal and your like or dislike for American Made may very well depend on how well you respond to the film's execution.