Cruise flying high again

MOVIE: American Made STARRING: Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright

RATING: MA

REVIEWER: Vicky Roach

THE expression “he flies by the seat of his pants” could have been coined especially for TWA pilot-turned-drug runner Barry Seal (Tom Cruise).

Before being recruited by the CIA, Seal gets his thrills by startling sleeping passengers with unexpected mid-flight “turbulence”.

Seal’s life takes an unexpected turn when special agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson) approaches him with an extraordinary proposition. The authorities will turn a blind eye to Seal’s small-scale smuggling sideline in Cuban cigars if he agrees to undertake some reconnaissance work for the agency. The new jet Seal is to pilot pretty much clinches the deal.

Based on real events, American Made is set in the late 1970s and early ’80s. When the film opens, Jimmy Carter is in the White House. Central America is a hot bed of political activity. The Cold War is in full swing.

Liberated from his life on autopilot, Seal flies fast and low over insurgent training camps taking photographs and sometimes a stray bullet. Before heading home to his wife (Sarah Wright), he switches back into his old TWA pilot’s uniform.

Cruise delivers his best performance in some time in the lead role. A ripping yarn with a keen, satirical edge.