Maverick is taking to the skies again! So nice to see Tom Cruise on screen with that signature swagger and charm. This time, however, that charm lives in a morally gray area as he plays a real life pilot who did covert work for the CIA and combined that with drug smuggling. Made for a different dynamic than we've seen from Cruise before.
For some reason, though, I wasn't all that into it and I can't quite figure out why. The story was simultaneously new yet the same (it was like a bunch of familiar stories tied together differently). The pacing wasn't quite there either.
I think that most of it was that I didn't like his character. His greed rubbed me the wrong way, as did his seemingly lack of moral compass. I know, I'm saying that as someone who adores Patrick Bateman, but it's different when your protagonist is being portrayed in a more positive light despite their questionable choices. I just couldn't get behind him, and therefore couldn't get behind the movie.
Cruise was very much at ease in the role, and was mostly fun to watch. However, I was more impressed with Domnhall Gleeson, who has been moving higher and higher up my ranks of favorites. This was a showy-er role than we've seen from him, and simply put I found him more interesting. Although my real favorite was Jayma Mays in her two scenes. I've never seen her play such a forceful character and I loved it (this was no Glee guidance counselor). Could we redo the movie from her perspective?
American Made – \m/ \m/ \n